


Who Gave You Eyes Like That

by Unoriginal2Tall



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Hogwarts Mystery
Genre: Awkwardness, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, My First Fanfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2020-03-09 01:04:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 43,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18906364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unoriginal2Tall/pseuds/Unoriginal2Tall
Summary: Andrew Ward and Merula Snyde have been at each other's throats since their first day. He's a laidback joker investigating Hogwart's Cursed Vaults in the hopes it will lead him to his missing brother. She's an ambitious bully seeking the same Vaults to gain fame and respect. Will an encounter in the Forbidden Forest change things between them? And if so how long can it last?





	1. Start A Fire

**Author's Note:**

> First fic, so I'm real nervous how it'll be received. Fair warning, I am not an experienced writer. Expect mistakes and possibly long delays between updates. I have plans for several more chapters, but I'm also a procrastinator. Feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Words in italics are Andrew's inner thoughts.
> 
> Work title is a line from Carly Rae Jepsen's I Really Like You.
> 
> I have to add an acknowledgement for my friend Catherine. Not only did she encourage me to start this project and provide writing tips, she also puts up with my thousands of in game Merula screenshots. Thanks for everything.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shockingly, Tulip has invited Merula to help search Jacob's room. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is Start A Fire by John Legend, from the movie La La Land.

Andrew Ward was not having a good day. It had been weeks since he had made any progress investigating the vaults. He felt no closer to finding his missing brother than when he first got to Hogwarts. After four years the doubts constantly came when he was alone. _Will I ever see Jacob again? Where could he be? Is my brother even alive?_ So when he got a note from Tulip about a possible lead, he ran through the halls to his brother's secret room. Whatever drawing she was looking for was the next clue to the answers he sought.

Before getting expelled and disappearing, Jacob had been digging into the mystery of the cursed vaults of Hogwarts. They were a danger to the school, causing magical ice to freeze students or unexplained sleepwalking in random students. And so he found an unused room in the massive castle to base his investigation. This room was eventually found, first by the determined Slytherin bully Merula Snyde and the prankster from Ravenclaw Tulip Karasu. This alliance would soon crumble, causing the room to go unused for a time. When Andrew was able to befriend his Ravenclaw housemate she revealed it to him. Since then the boy spent at least a few hours there every day, even if it was just to think about Jacob.

The room looked the same as always. There were boards holding several papers, some of which were connected by string. Drawings and notes covered almost every surface. He expected to see the red haired Tulip, with her mischievous smile. What he did not expect was the bright violet eyes of Merula. The girl who decided she would be his nemesis from their first day. She had bad blood with basically everyone, doubly so in Tulip’s case. Seeing them together and not fighting was perhaps the biggest shock.

“Hello, Ward.” a smug look on her face at the disbelief emanating from the boy.

“Wh what is she doing here?” he sputtered, still trying to process what he was seeing. His hand was briefly drawn to his wand on instinct.

The Ravenclaw girl responded with an even tone, trying to keep things calm, “Okay let's take a step back and look at this logically. She's spent a lot of time in here, she might be able to help us find the drawing I think will lead us further.” She paused, then sheepishly asked, “Are you mad?”

“Nah, just surprised is all.” he replied, visibly relaxing. “I guess it works in a 'keep your enemies closer kinda way’”, he added with a shrug.

Merula's grin widened at this, “I knew you liked having me around Ward.”

A smile returned to Tulip's face, “Excellent, this is the exact kind of calculating thinking that will lead us to the vaults.”

“Plus she already admitted she's under orders from Rakepick to help me, so that basically makes her our house elf. That sound right Mer?” He said with a goofy grin, knowing he'd get a rise from her. Madam Rakepick was the professional cursebreaker the school brought in to help deal with the cursed vaults. Merula had recently begun to work with her.

“I've told you not to call me that!” Merula spat with a stomp, eyes narrowing. “I can make you eat those words Ward.”

Andrew's laugh was hearty, the playful antagonism lifting his spirits. Tulip joined in. “Well then, after you Miss Snyde.” A mock bow thrown in for good measure.

“Alright let's just have a look. I promise to respect your brother's memory.”

The smile instantly faded from the boy's face, replaced with a look of worry. Most people believed his brother was a corpse rotting somewhere he'd never be found. Some thought he joined the Death Eaters, working to find a way to bring back Voldemort. Andrew went back and forth about which option was worse.

“Sorry, I meant respect his belongings. I didn't mean for it to sound like he's been dead this whole time.” She quickly backtracked, apologizing to him for the first time since they'd met, red with embarrassment. He didn't even notice.

“Whatever” Andrew dismissed, preferring to work and get his mind off things. “Lumos”

The girls followed suit, searching the room for a drawing of the forest Tulip thought might be useful. For almost half an hour they dug through stacks of paper and looked in corners. It's only when Andrew looks behind the desk that he spots the missing page.

“Is this it?” He asks, giving the paper to Tulip.

“Yes, excellent. Guess we didn't need Merula after all,” the Ravenclaw laughed while looking over the page.

“I searched harder than both of you combined. Ward just got lucky like always.” Merula rolled her eyes, once again beaten to the punch by her rival.

“Is it really luck if I'm just that good?”

“This drawing is of the clearing you used to enter the forbidden forest and search before.” Tulip interjected, heading off the inevitable argument.

Andrew shrugged, “So?”

“So, there's a structure in the background of the area you searched earlier, and the only structures I know of in the forest are from centaurs.”

“So there's some connection between the centaurs and the vault. Got it.” He stroked his chin, mentally reviewing everything he knew about centaurs.

Tulip quickly brought him back to the present. “Right, you'll have to go deep in the forest to find them. The question is, who will you bring with you?”

Andrew shrugged, “I suppose I'll take Merula since I'm borrowing her broom anyway.”

“Look at that, even someone as dense as you knows the right witch for the job,” the confident Slytherin stated. The smug smirk was present once more.

“And if we run into any danger she can scare it off with her personality.” Andrew added, his mischievous side once again showing up.

He was rewarded with an eye roll. “I'll take that as a compliment Ward. After all it's not like we can rely on you keeping us safe.”

“You’re going to take her? Into a potentially dangerous situation? Alone? Your decision making is more mysterious than the cursed vaults Andrew Ward.” Tulip concluded.

“Jealous Karasu?” Merula asked imperiously.

“Are you saying there is something to be jealous of Merula Snyde?” came the smug reply. It sounds like she's implying something but I haven't a clue what.

Merula seemed to catch on though. “Ye...wha…no! Shut up!” Tulip chuckled at this.

“Uh,right. Well now that’s over we'd better get this done with. Meet me tonight in the courtyard and we'll fly in.” With that they all went their separate ways, Andrew heading to the library to brush up on centaurs. After that he'd see Penny about healing potions.

  
Once the rest of the castle went to bed it was time to sneak off. He made his way down from the West towers, taking a detour to avoid a corridor Ms. Norris seemed to be patrolling. Creeping his way out of the school, he spied his rival hiding behind a bush in the courtyard.

Never one to miss an opportunity, the boy stealthed his way around behind her. “Boo!” he shouted while grabbing her shoulders.

“Merlin's mother!” The look of fright on her face was quickly replaced with anger, as she punched him in the shoulder. “Damn you Ward. I thought you were serious about this quest of yours.”

“Doesn't mean we can't have a little fun together along the way,” he retorted, wiggling his eyebrows with a smirk.

“We don't have fun Ward, remember? We'll always be enemies. I haven't forgotten the way you embarrassed me in those duels.” She countered, glaring into his eyes.

“What those? I thought they were in the past. You know, like that time you tried to murder me with Devil’s Snare?” He answered casually.

Mentioning the Devil's Snare caused her to break off the stare. “That was different…you weren't…the oaf should have moved faster. What's the point of being tall...” she mumbles while retrieving her broom.

 _Huh, how does she know about Hagrid helping us get out?_ Ward thought to himself, puzzled. _Is she the reason he was in that corridor?_

The two foes hopped on to the broom, Andrew gently placing his hands on her shoulders. “What do you think you're doing?” She blurts. It almost looks like she's blushing, but the dark of night makes it hard to tell. He takes a step back all the same. _Best not to get her too mad_.

“Well we only have your broom, so I need something to hold.” Andrew explained, locking eyes with the feisty witch. “Unless of course you'd like to let me fly. Hooch does say that I'm one of the best in our year” That last bit wasn't necessary, but it was fun.

She scoffs at this. “She only says that out of pity. Just don't get any funny ideas back there.”

“Ah really? But I was working on this great joke involving Snape and a boggart.” He had never been this close to her before, even working together in potions. She smelled like cloves, coffee, and something he couldn't identify. Whatever it was smelled nice.

She rolls her eyes. “You know what I mean Ward.”

Andrew placed his hand over his mouth in mock surprise. “Oh my, I didn't even think about it like that. Sounds like maybe you're the one having ‘funny ideas’.” he teases.

Merula quickly turned from the smirking face, stomping on his foot for good measure. “If you don't shut up I swear I'll drop you in the middle of the lake.”


	2. Light Up The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merula and Andrew enter the forest and encounter a centaur. Good news, he knew Andrew's brother Jacob. Bad news, Jacob betrayed him by stealing and he appears to be quite bitter about it. This might not go smoothly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of the dialogue in these first two chapters are directly from the game. The next few chapters are all OC, but whether that's good or bad is up to you.
> 
> Chapter Title is Light Up The Night by The Protomen.

With that they were off. They soared over the grounds, then above the trees of the dense forest. A half moon hung in the sky, lighting their way. She stole the occasional glance over her shoulder, but what she was looking at he couldn't say. It's not like anyone was following them. Instead he closes his eyes a moment and feels the cool air as they fly by. For a second all his problems melt away, until he forces himself to open them and search for their destination. In the distance they spot their target, a small clearing about the size of a large house.

“There it is, that's the clearing.” Andrew called out, pointing in the direction.

She steered the broom that way, gliding over the trees before descending to land. The forest loomed around them, trees surrounding them in every direction. The smell of trees and leaves was in the air. Once their feet were firmly on the ground, the teenagers quickly separated, each drawing their wand.

“It wouldn't be wise to fly into their camp uninvited. We can walk from here. Try not to glare anything to death on the way, we want them to like us.” He put on his best smile, eager to make a good first impression on the centaurs.

“You're just mad that my eyes are more dangerous than your wand. Let's just get this over with.” She looked disinterested, and he supposed that was an improvement on angry.

From behind a tree stepped a grey horse with the upper body of a man. The figure towered over the teens, and entered the clearing carrying a bow and a look of determination.

“You can try but you will not get far.” The centaur said, calmly stepping forward.

“I. Oh. Hey. You.” Andrew sputtered, unsure what to say now that he was facing an actual centaur.

Merula knew what to say. “This isn't my fault, he made me help with his search.” Throwing him under the bus may not be the noble thing, but a Slytherin always knows to protect themselves.

“What are you searching for humans?” the strange being asked.

Right, the mission. Gotta snap back. “My brother has gone missing, and I have reason to believe there is a clue to his disappearance hidden in a secret vault somewhere in this forest.”

“I knew your brother. He once came in this forest in search of a vault.” The alien creatures face contorts suddenly. “Then he betrayed me!”

“We don't want any trouble…” the boy says, in a futile attempt to deescalate the situation.

“Then you should have stayed out of our forest!” Whatever happened with Jacob, this centaur was still mad about it.

“Watch out Mer, this could get messy.” Andrew shouted while raising his wand.

“As if I would help you. And stop calling me that!” she replies, taking a step behind him. Wands and a bow were aimed simultaneously, and like that the battle was started.

The centaur is surprisingly fast for such a large person, easily dodging the initial volley of spells from the teens. He charged at Andrew, raising his hooves to end this quickly. The Ravenclaw barely managed to get out of the way in time, rolling to his side and then backing away. Arrows followed him, keeping him on the defensive. Meanwhile his temporary ally was attacking from a distance, the jets of light just enough of a distraction to keep her rival from being overwhelmed.

Unfortunately a forest is full of obstacles, and when Andrew tripped on a root the centaur had a perfect opportunity. The arrow slammed into his left shoulder, and he cried out as it pierced him to the bone. He could feel his shoulder break from the impact. _At least it isn't my wand arm_ , he thought trying to stay optimistic. The smell of blood quickly filled the air as it began to run down his arm. The arm hung limply by his side, too painful to use in his current state. Things were looking grim as he forced himself back up.

“I've had enough of this pony.” Merula shouts with a sudden look of rage the likes of which he hadn't seen from her. Her spells started flowing faster, motivating him to speed up too. Before long she'd hit him with expelliarmus, causing his bow to go flying off. This distracted him long enough for Andrew to strike true with a full body bind.

Andrew sensed an opportunity to cool things off, and so he took it. Wiping the sweat from his face, he once more tried for a nonviolent solution. “That's enough, I don't want to fight you.”

“Yeah, he speaks for himself.” Merula snarled, still brandishing her wand. She had never been one for diplomacy.

“Let me rephrase, WE don't want to fight you.” The two youths glared at each other for a moment, before she shrugged and lowered her weapon. “I'm going to release the spell now, so let's talk this out.” As he ended the magic life quickly returned to his foe's limbs.

“Then return what your brother stole!” the centaur demanded, slowly getting back to his feet. He had a defiant demeanor in spite of his defeat.

“I don't know what you're talking about. What did he steal?” Andrew responded, a brief furrow in his brow. _His brother stole from this centaur? Well he must have had a good reason for it._

“Sounds like big brother was just as untrustworthy as you Ward.” Merula teased, pulling a face at the boy. He ignored her, too focused on the possible answers standing before him.

“Your brother stole an arrow that belongs to me. One that once belonged to my father.” The creature's face was covered with obvious regret.

“An arrow? Is it this one I found in the last vault?” Andrew asked, retrieving it from a large pocket in which he kept everything related to the vaults. _Maybe this going to be easy._

The immediate hope that filled the centaurs eyes was quickly replaced with a furrowed brow and concern “Where is the Arrowhead?”

“I don't know, it was like this when I found it.” Andrew shrugged his good shoulder as he explained.

 _Of course it wasn't going to be that easy. It never was_. A small grunt escaped from the intense pain in his shoulder, but he was pretty sure no one noticed. _That's going to be a problem._ His mind raced through solutions, searching for the best way to fix it and attempting to estimate how long he could lose blood and remain conscious. _One thing at a time. First the centaur, then the shoulder._

“How did it get inside the vault? I know about them, but I don't understand how something of mine could get inside.” The centaur was beginning to visibly relax. Whether this was because the young Ravenclaw had returned at least part of what was stolen or the general mystery of how it got in the vault, he couldn't be sure.

“I feel like I barely know anything about them. How did you learn of them?” _I read that centaurs can have knowledge totally foreign to the wizarding world. Perhaps they know more about the vaults._

“My father warned me of the one in the forest when I was a foal. I was told to stay away.” The centaur was opening up, and Andrew felt himself relax. _Well at least the fighting portion seems to be finished._

“I guess you're not such a good listener?” Merula chimed, never missing an opportunity for a jab. Andrew couldn't help a small smile.

The centaur continued, ignoring the quip in favor of more constructive discussion. “I never gave it much thought until your brother came years later. We are taught to stay far from human affairs, but I was idealistic and wanted to help. It was the worst decision of my life.” His gaze falls to his hooves. “Jacob claimed that someone had disturbed the vault, releasing a curse upon your school. He asked me to help find it, and then said he needed to borrow the arrow to open the door and break the curse. It's missing a jeweled Arrowhead. It's a cherished heirloom that my herd has had for generations.”

“Jeweled you say. Finally this is getting interesting.” Merula chimed in, her violet eyes looking everywhere except for her companion and the arrow still protruding from him. He attempted to stand up straight, and put on a mask of confidence to hide the massive pain he was in.

“I wanted to help, but I refused to give up the arrow. So what does my friend do, use magic to sneak into the camp and steal it. I never saw him again.” he added. _Why would Jacob do something like that?_

“Backstabbing must be a family trait.” Snyde quipped, finally making eye contact with the boy as they glared at each other for a moment. He leaned closer in an attempt to whisper to her. _Starting to feel a bit woozy here._

“Really, you want to do this now? Can't you wait until after this meeting to take out your frustration on me?” He hissed in an attempt to put an end to the interruptions. She stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to their former foe. _Yeah I'll take that as a no._

The centaur continued once they finished. “I took the blame for the loss of the Arrowhead, they said it was my fault for trusting a human. I was exiled from the herd, and have been on my own ever since.” He sighed deeply.

“I'm sorry…” Andrew began

“Your brother is the one who should be sorry. If I see him again he will be very sorry…” came the interruption, emphasized by a stamped hoof.

“If I can find your arrowhead, will you take me to the vault?” _I have no idea if I can even do that, but it seems like the only way out._

“I shall read the planets. They will show me what the future holds…” was the reply, as the being in front of them looked up into the night sky.

“Ugh, divination? Really?” the girl says as she rolls her eyes for good measure.

“You do what you have to. By the way, I never got your name.” _Hopefully I can get to know him a little, maybe repair some trust in humanity after Jacob's betrayal._

“Torvus” the mysterious centaur states flatly.

“Thank you Torvus. I'm Andrew. And this is…”

“I can introduce myself Ward! My name is Merula Snyde.” Her chin raises as she introduces herself, partially from pride and partially to look up at Torvus high above her.

“Be careful with this one Merula Snyde. His clan cannot be trusted.” and with that Torvus trotted off. He quickly disappeared among the trees, leaving the teens alone again.


	3. It's Just A Flesh Wound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merula and Andrew work on their arrow problem while also getting to know each other better. Emergency medical attention turns out to be a great bonding experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a line from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
> 
> This chapter is cool because it's the first time they're alone together, so their banter won't be interrupted/

“Ha, hear that Ward. You're the one who's untrustworthy now. How's it fe…” Merula stops mid gloat, seeing her rival leaning against a tree. He made his way to the ground, propping himself against the tree.

Andrew lets out a small grunt as he reaches the ground, before replying with a half smile. “Glad to see you're enjoying yourself Mer.”

Merula rushes over, carefully checking his injury while chastising him. “Andrew you idiot. Why did we stand there and chat with the farm animal when we needed to fix this? Your dueling clearly needs work.”

“Well we can't all duel behind a human shield. That's reserved for the greatest witch at Hogwarts.” His smile grows as they start their familiar banter.

“Well I highly recommend you get your own meatshield. Barnaby would probably jump at the opportunity.”

“I'll keep that in mind for next time.”

Merula gently punches his uninjured arm. “There isn't going to BE a next time if you die from an arrow wound like it's still the damn middle ages.”

“Alright, hold your hippogriffs. You're not getting rid of me that easy Mer. I've got a plan.”

“Your ideas are what led to you getting shot in the first place.” she says, giving him an annoyed look.

“Well lucky for us then that this is a plan, not an idea. Completely different.” he replies, retrieving a potion from his pocket.

“What is that?” Merula still doesn't look convinced.

“Oh just a little poison. You know bleeding to death sounds rather long and painful, I thought this would be easier.” His tone is even, but he's unable to keep a silly grin off his face.

Merula rolls her eyes at this. “Alright, I assume this “plan” of yours involves more than just a potion.”

“Correct. You cast reducio on the arrow, which should make it easier for you to remove. Then I'll drink my potion and maybe try some healing magic if that doesn't fix everything. Presto my body is back to being arrow free with most of the blood still inside. Just the way you like it.” he explains, giving a smile at the end.

She's sighs, turning away briefly before saying, “Let's just get this over with”

Both teens get a focused look, wanting to make sure they get it right. “On three?” they ask simultaneously, then give each other a nod. “One. Two. Three.” they count together, and then they begin. The arrow is quickly shrunk and pulled out. Even as a smaller projectile, bits of flesh stick to the points as it comes out. Blood immediately starts flowing, covering his already soaked robe sleeve and even splashing on Merula. The smell is now omnipresent, overwhelming any other scent.

“ARGH!” the boy shouts behind gritted teeth. He quickly drinks the potion, and the wound slowly knits itself together. The gash becomes a deep cut, and after a few healing spells it is mostly closed.

“Well, you certainly planned to get injured.” Merula chimed in once he seemed finished. “Who even has an “in case of arrow injury” plan? Is your planning why you have so many 'friends’ in your cult?”

The boy smiles, glad both that the task is finished and their normal sparring conversation had returned “No, that's just my magnetic personality at work. The planning is because I'm a Ravenclaw. Centaurs are known for using arrows, seemed prudent to be ready in case things got violent.”

“Well your plan didn't seem to account for the fact that you're still bleeding. Hold still.” she commands. Her arm swivels to him, as she casts Diffindo on his ruined sleeve. She gently pulls it off.

“Oi, that's my robe!”

“Oh calm down, it was already destroyed by the arrow. I'm making you a bandage so you don't get any more blood on me.” the girl informs him as she begins slowly wrapping what's left of the hole in his shoulder.

“Oh, well that's pretty clever. Thank you Merula.”

“I'm not doing it for you, but you're welcome. No one improvises like a Slytherin.” she informs him as she finished applying the makeshift bandage.She takes a step back to admire her handiwork.

“I can see that. You wouldn't happen to know any Slytherins looking to join a cult? I'll let you give yourself a cool title. How about ‘The Emerald Duchess’?” the boy jokes, spreading his good arm through the air as he announces the title.

Merula unsuccessfully tries to stifle a laugh. “Duchess?”

_Wow, I actually got a laugh out of her. Better keep it up._ “Yeah, really give you the dignity and respect that a Snyde heiress should have. Or maybe “The Viscountess of Violet”? We can workshop something.”

She openly laughs, shaking her head. “You're ridiculous Ward. I'm going to have to pass, my family doesn't have the best history with cults.” She's still smiling, but there's a hint of sadness behind it at the mention of her family.

“Oof, right. Sorry I forgot. I'll just have to settle for imitation.” with that he cuts off his other sleeve and begins attempting to tie it together with one hand.

“What are you doing?” she asks, her voice with a familiar annoyed tone once again. _Well that was fun while it lasted._

“This shoulder is definitely broken, and hurts like a bitch. I'm making a sling to keep it somewhat stable until I make it to the hospital wing.” he explained while struggling to make a knot one handed.

Merula let's out a frustrated sigh before snatching the material from him. “Give me that or we'll be here all night.” There's a pause, before. “You pick up on things way too fast. It's very annoying. Could you just go one day without being Mr. perfect?”

Andrew looks around confused. _Did Merula just compliment me?_ “What? I'm nowhere near perfect. I'm terrible at divination. I always struggle working with creatures. I suck at chess. I can't dance. I'm a bad liar. I only win at gobstones when I distract my opponent. Plus I'm told that I don't know when to shut up and stop joking.”

“You know what I mean. You show me up all the time. Why can't you just let me be the best?” she says as she puts the now completed sling around him.

This again? “Ugh! Merula, how many times do I have to tell you? I. Don't. Care. About. That. The only reason I work so hard to be good at things is to find my brother. That's the goal. You can be the best. You can have all the glory. You can have any treasure or powerful artifact that might be in the vaults. I just want Jacob back.” He leaned his head back and sighed deeply, wiping away a few tears. _You can't let her see you cry._

There is silence for a few moments as he prepares for the next insult. To his surprise she sits down on his right instead. “So you think he's still alive?” Her voice was different. It was softer than normal, without the anger.

“Yes. I mean maybe. Maybe I'm just clinging to hope because I can't accept that I'll never see him again. Then again with some of the rumors that are out there, I don't know if I'd want to. I can’t bear to think of him like that.”

“Ward if you believe for even a second that your brother has become a death eater, then you're truly as dense as I've said you are all these years.” The words are an insult, but she doesn't spit them with the usual venom. _Am I being comforted right now? Maybe I'm hearing things wrong. Blood loss and such._

“What?” He turned to her and their eyes became locked. “You can't know that he isn't. People change.”

Her stare is intense, as a hint of pain crept into her impossibly colored eyes. Have they always looked like that? I should look at them more often. “You forget that I have experience with death eaters? Trust me, if your brother is anything like you then he'd have nothing in common with them.” She looks away to the ground and mumbles. “Not like me.”

“Woah woah woah, I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if my favorite nemesis became a death eater.” _Who is this person? I've never seen Merula like this._

“You know what I mean. Look at what I'm like. I'm constantly bullying people and picking fights. I almost killed you and Khanna at the ripe old age of 11. If the giant had taken any longer you wouldn't be here, and I'd probably be in a cell next to my parents.” All of the girl's usual confidence is gone, as she bares her inner thoughts. Her head hangs, eyes focused on a point between her boots.

_Okay I don't like this. I need to get things back to normal._ “It doesn't matter what would have happened. Rowan and I are still alive. Luckily for us you're just rubbish at murder plots.”

Merula once again breaks out in uninhibited laughter. _Was her laugh always like this? How did I not notice how nice it is?_ “Oh and I suppose you could do better?”

“I'll have you know that I've literally never failed to kill someone.”

They sit in silence for a few seconds both smiling but contemplative. C'mon man, she's opening up. Say something serious for a change. The Ravenclaw boy takes a deep breath before nudging his evening's companion with his good shoulder. Her head turns slowly, but he waits for them to lock eyes before he starts speaking. “Hey. You know you don't have to be like them if you don't want. You're the greatest witch at Hogwarts, you can be and do whatever you want.”

She scoffs and turns away again. “Really wasn't looking for sarcasm Ward.” she sighs.

He reaches out and puts his hand on hers. Merlin what am I doing? She turns and appears to be readying a scathing objection before he interrupts her. “Well that's good Merula, because I meant every word.”

Merula looks completely stunned by this. The teenagers just look into each other's eyes, for how long neither is sure. _Seriously her eyes are amazing. How did I never noticed? What now? Maybe just lean closer and say something nice._

As he does this the girl looks spooked. She quickly stands and shakes her head. _Shit, you messed it up._ “Well in that case, what I want is to get out of this forest and into my warm bed. Up you go Ward, tonight was pointless besides the one that went in your shoulder. I'd like it to be over already.” She reaches a hand out to help him to his feet.

Andrew chuckles while stumbling a bit. “I think my sense of humor is starting to rub off on you Mer.”

“You're imagining things, just get on the broom.” she replies dismissively.

They mount the broom the same as before, but now Andrew only has one hand to hold on with. He struggles to maintain his balance.

“Ugh. Your blood loss is affecting your balance. Move closer and hold on tighter so you don't fall off.” Merula instructs.

“Um, did you hit your head in the fight? You tell me you hope I fall literally every time I'm flying.”

“No! Normally I wouldn't care, but since we're sharing a broom if you fall off you might drag me down with you.”

Andrew slides up behind her, looping his good arm around her waist. The boy looms over his shorter classmate, and the first thing he notices is the heat of being pressed against someone else. The second is a return of her scent, although now there are hints of sweat and his blood after the fight. “Well I'm convinced. We can't have you getting hurt Mer, that's my job. Just don't get any funny ideas. They're not allowed on this broom.”

The girl throws a gentle elbow into his ribs. “Just shut up and hold on.” _Alright I'm pretty sure her ears have turned red._


	4. Bad Medicine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After returning to Hogwarts, Andrew heads to the hospital wing to get his shoulder fixed. Merula accompanies him, but only because it will earn her a favor. No ulterior motives here. Nope, none at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is Bad Medicine by Bon Jovi. Is it on the nose? Yes. Is it cheesy? Also yes. Do I care? NOPE.

The students once again take to the air. Although the scenery is much the same, this ride feels completely different. It's warmer with their closer proximity, more intimate. Andrew once again closes his eyes, thinking over the events of the evening. _What a weird night. I'm not even sure if getting shot was the most interesting part. I saw a completely different side of Merula._ He snaps back to the present when he feels their descent begin. Soon they're landing in the courtyard and dismounting.

“Well that was lovely.” Andrew blurts cheerfully. As he does Merula begins walking away before quickly stopping.

“It goes without saying that no one is to know about that particular broom ride.” she states, turning to face him. “In fact, it never happened. Understood?”

Andrew tries to give a smile that is reassuring. “Broom ride? What broom ride? I didn't even know you could ride brooms. No, I'm just a fool who spends too much time in the hospital wing.”

The Slytherin let's out a large sigh of relief. “Good. I'm sure I can rely on you playing dumb. You have lots of experience.” There's a brief pause before she gets a nervous look. “Do you. Do you need help getting there? You know, hypothetically.”

Andrew runs his hand over his chin. “Well, hypothetically this is a big castle and blood loss can make you forgetful. I might need someone to guide me in the right direction so I don't get lost. I'd even say that I'd owe such a person a favor.”

“Hmm, you know it could be useful to have you in my debt. You're not completely worthless.”

“Aww, that's the nicest thing you've ever said about me Mer. I'm going to make sure they put that on my tombstone. ‘Here lies Andrew Ward, who was not completely worthless.” he jokes as they head off in the right direction.

Merula laughs again, this time with a snort. _Okay that's adorable, gotta hear that more._ “Don't make me laugh right now, we need to have a story for Madam Pomfrey.”

“Oh leave that to me. To quote your head of house, 'Miss Snyde for a Slytherin you're a dreadful liar’” He does a comical impression of Snape, eliciting a snicker from the girl. “And you're always pointing out that I am too.”

“Well you are. So what are you going to do then?”

“Luckily I've spent a bit of my free time volunteering in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey owes me, and should help without asking too many questions.”

“So you're going to take advantage of a debt to get what you want.”

“I suppose, if you wanted to describe it in the least charitable way possible.”

They arrive at the hospital wing, quietly opening the door and looking around. The beds are all empty, and it's completely silent. The smell of healing potions and their ingredients fills the air.

“Good, there's no one here. Madam Pomfrey has a bed in her office. I'll go knock.” the boy says as he moves through the familiar surroundings.

“I'll just hang back in case this all goes wrong.”

“I'm just glad you're here at all.” he gives her a quick smile before knocking on the office door. “Madam Pomfrey?”

There's a brief pause, followed by a wand lighting and movement. Madam Pomfrey opens the door pulling a robe on around her night clothes.

“Yes? What is it? Ward? What are you doing here at this hour?” the older woman asks while wiping sleep from her eyes.

The Ravenclaw runs his hand through his hair. _How do I put this?_  “Wellllll, remember last year when I helped with that mysterious rash outbreak and you said ‘I owe you one Mr. Ward.’?”

The motherly healer gets a trademark stern look on her face. “Yes. Let me guess, you'd like me to treat your injury without asking questions about how you obtained such an injury.”

“If you would be so kind, yes ma'am”

Madam Pomfrey let's out a brief sigh. “You wouldn't be the first. Very well, let's look at the damage.” She moves to the boy's side to examine his shoulder. “I see a sling and a bandage. I'd say that shoulder is broken. Shouldn't be too hard to fix. I'm impressed you got the bandages that secure with one hand.”

“Oh that wasn't me. Ms. Snyde is the one who thought of it.” He points to the corner Merula had been waiting in

She comes closer, and appears to have regained the swagger she'd temporarily lost in the forest. “That's right, I basically saved his cursed life. You're welcome”

The healer's eyes go wide in surprise, looking between the teens. “You? Helped him?” Then she waves her hand and shakes her head. “You know what, I don't want to know. Mr. Ward please go lay on one of the beds. I'll be right back with the potions.” She moves off to some shelves to find the required medication.

Andrew does as he's told, climbing into the nearest bed with a sigh of relief. “See Mer. Everything worked out fine.”

“Yes, everything always works out for you doesn't it Ward?” her tone is sarcastic and exasperated. _There she is. That's the Merula I know._

“True, like having you with me tonight. I'd probably be dead without you. I'd say that's pretty lucky.” he continues to smile at her.

“Quit looking at me like that.” She snaps at him.

Before he can respond the hospital matron returns. “Here we are. This one will fix the shoulder, and this one will help you get to sleep. Drink up”

“Cheers.” He clinks the vials together before drinking them back to back. The first tastes absolutely vile and burns all the way down. The second is more soothing, tasting of lavender.

“Thank you. Ms. Snyde it is long past visiting hours. I expect you to be gone when I get back.” With that madam Pomfrey takes her leave.

“Yeah sure, fine. I don't even know why I'm here.”

“Well I for one am glad you are. I had fun tonight.” He says while adjusting the sheets to get comfortable.

“You what? Fun? You were shot with a damn arrow! You could have died you idiot!” Merula angrily whispers to him, not wanting to further incur the healer's wrath by shouting.

Andrew's eyes have already become heavy, and his speech becomes slower and quieter. “We'll just be more careful next time.” He lets out a large yawn.

“Next time? Ward you are truly mad. I'm going to ask Madam Pomfrey to check your brain in the morning.” She's rolling her eyes, but she also can't hide a small smile.

His voice is barely audible as his eyes close with a smile on his face. “That wasn't a no Mmm…”

The last thing he remembers is hair being brushed from his face, and part of a statement. “You know you're lucky…” With that he falls into a deep slumber, dreaming of messy hair and violet eyes.


	5. In Friends We Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew wakes the next day to find many are interested in what happened the night before. First he explains himself to the headmaster, before getting advice from his friends. What will they think of the details he's willing to share?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is In Friends We Trust by Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!

Andrew awoke to the noontime sun coming in through the window. He shot up, fearing he'd overslept his classes, before remembering it was now Saturday. Taking a look around, he quickly noticed Madam Pomfrey in a quiet discussion with Professor Dumbledore. _Uh oh, I'm doomed._ Just then Dumbledore noticed the boy was awake and soon began making his way over.

“Good afternoon Mr. Ward. How are you feeling today?” He greeted in a normal tone, as if he was not at all surprised to find Andrew here. His bright eyes twinkled from behind his trademark half moon spectacles, in a way that made Andrew fear the man already knew everything.

“Professor. Uh, fancy meeting you here. I feel good, thanks for asking. How is your day?” the teen responded. _Maybe he's just being polite and won't ask a bunch of questions._

The headmaster smiles a bit as he says, “Oh my day is going quite well. You see I'm conducting an investigation into how you received your injury. Our resident healer tells me you used a favor to avoid giving her any details.”

Andrew sighed. _He is definitely planning to ask questions_. “That's right.” he answered warily.

“I, however, owe you no such favors. So why don't you go ahead and tell me.” The tone was friendly but it was also clear that this was not a request.

The boy scratched the back of his head nervously. _I am definitely in trouble._ Then he quickly described his night to get it over with. “Well, you see I found some evidence that the forest vault might be connected to the centaurs. So I went to investigate. I met a centaur who knew my brother, but it seems Jacob betrayed him.” _I still can't believe that Jacob would do something like that_. “This led to a fight, during which I was shot in the shoulder. Once things had calmed I was able to talk with the centaur, whose name is Torvus. He said he might forgive me and help with the vault, but only after I return what Jacob stole. After a bit of first aid, I made my way here to get the help I needed.”

The aged wizard took all of this in, before softly responding. “I see. You know the forest is called the Forbidden Forest for a reason. It's quite dangerous, especially when one is alone. You were lucky to make it back safely.”

“Oh I wasn't alone. I had…uh” _Shit, probably shouldn't have said that. I told Merula she wouldn't have to deal with any consequences._ He lowered his eyes away from the headmaster. “a companion with me.”

“Am I to take it that you do not wish to reveal the identity of this companion? Even if it means more consequences for you?”

_I should just tell him. She would in my position. I would have yesterday, but things feel different after last night._ He looked back up, hoping he might read something on the professor’s face. “I'm sorry sir, I just can't do that. I'll accept the punishments for both of us.”

“Indeed you shall.” The only reaction was a slight raise of an eyebrow. Well that doesn't tell me anything. “Very well. 50 points for each offense seems reasonable. 100 points from Ravenclaw.” _Oof, my housemates won't be happy about this._ “Now that that's settled, I shan't keep you any longer. I hope you enjoy your day.” The man moved toward the door, before pausing briefly. “Oh and Mr. Ward. I believe you have a note on the bedside table. Perhaps it is from your mystery companion.” he said with a knowing smile. With that he was gone.

Andrew immediately turned and grabbed the paper he found there. On it in small, familiar, slightly messy handwriting were just five words.

Ward

Get better  
Or else

He smiled. He didn't need a name at the bottom to tell who it was from. He only knew one witch that would threaten someone in a Get Well note. He tucked the note into what remained of his tattered robes. _I'll have to fix these later. For now I'll just go to my room and throw some regular clothes on._ He hopped out of the bed and once again thanked Madam Pomfrey before leaving. Wanting to avoid people, he took a route with as many secret passages as possible. Unfortunately he still came across a few students, and they predictably stared at him. No doubt the whole school would soon be speculating why Andrew Ward was wearing robes covered in blood missing both sleeves.

As he drew closer to the common room he remembered he'd need to answer a riddle to get in. _Damn, come on easy one._ He used the eagle knocker, which promptly came to life and began to speak. “See someone's life come to an end, only then can you see me friend”

“Yes! Thestral. Thanks knocker.” With that the door swung open, and he ran through the common room to the stairs. He didn't see or hear anyone, but with Ravenclaws you never knew when one was hiding in some nook reading silently. So speed seemed the best option.

He made it back to his room, only to bump into Rowan on his way out. “Andrew, there you are. My goodness, what happened to you? Are you okay?” His bespectacled best friend's face was full of concern at the sight of his appearance.

“Hey Rowan. I'm fine. Give me a couple minutes to wash and get dressed in something less bloody. Then we'll go somewhere and talk.” _I just need to relax a little after everything._ He went to retrieve fresh clothes and a towel, taking the time to hide his note at the bottom of his trunk.

“Okay. Penny and Tulip said you went into the forest with Merula. She didn't…” he trailed off and simply pointed at the blood stains.

“Nope, this isn't her work. Well kinda. The sleeves were her. Look I'll explain everything in a bit. Just give me a half hour to relax and clean up. Meet you under the same tree as always?” _I understand why Rowan is concerned, but I'm still tense from last night._

“Okay. I'll bring a few books to study while I wait. Should I bring anyone else?” The boy began earnestly digging through his trunk in search of the right book.

“Err.. No. I think this will be easier if I tell people one by one” _Once I figure out what I'm going to say._ With that he made his way to the bathroom and ran the water as hot as it would go. As soon as he sank into the steaming water the tension started to leave him. He hadn't realized how much his shoulder ached until it started to lessen. Once he'd scrubbed the blood off, all that was left was to figure out what to say. _Obviously I'll have to talk about the conversation with Torvus. There was a lot of information and I'll need my friends’ help to put it to use. But I also don't want to tell them about some of the parts with Mer. Parts of our conversation felt... private. Not to mention I don't even know how I feel about them yet. She was...nice. On purpose. To me. At least I think it was on purpose. I mean, it had to be. She left a get well note. Yes, she technically threatened me in said note. But she probably wasn't serious about it. Probably. Ugh I don't know. Well I can't hide in the bath all day thinking about it._

Once he had dried himself off he quickly dressed in his typical casual clothes, jeans, a shirt with a tie left loose, and some trainers. It was warm, so he rolled up his sleeves. He dashed out of his room and made haste to the castle grounds. He and his friends had been meeting under a particular tree at the top of a hill since first year. Coming up the hill, he was surprised to see that Rowan was not alone. Reading beside him was their friend Tulip. He was out of breath when he finally got to them, so Tulip spoke first.

“Hello Andrew Ward. Have a nice night?” She was smiling and seemed to be studying him. Her toad Dennis was hopping around near her.

Once air had returned to his lungs, he did his best to respond without giving anything away. “I would call it eventful to say the least. What brings you here this afternoon?”

“Well, I was sitting in our common room contemplating my next prank. Suddenly you entered wearing some very bloody robes. Not long after you flew up the stairs, our mutual friend here came down and left. It was child's play to deduce that the two of you planned to meet here and discuss last night after you cleaned up. So obviously I decided to join” Her statement was matter of fact, as though anyone would have done the same in her place. _Damn Ravenclaws, always figuring things out._

_I can't think of a reason to ask her to leave. This could be a good thing. She knows Merula best. Perhaps she'll have more insight._ He sighed before sitting down and recounting his evening, leaving out everything about the broom rides and anything he or Merula said that he wanted to keep to himself. Which ended up being essentially everything that wasn't part of the Torvus conversation. Afterwards he looked between his friends ready for their thoughts.

Rowan was the first to react, rapidly rattling off a series of questions. “You were shot? And your brother stole from a centaur? Perhaps I can look into centaur apology customs. And a jeweled arrowhead. It could be anywhere. I have no idea where we'd even begin to search.” He paused to think, giving Tulip an opportunity to speak.

“For someone who was shot you seem to be smiling quite a bit.” Tulip said with a smirk.

“What?”

“Well, I would expect someone who was pierced by an arrow to be upset. Perhaps angry. At the very least disgruntled. You appear to be none of these things. Did anything else happen that has you so pleased?”

Rowan balked at her question, “Tulip how can you be asking about smiles at a time like this? We need to figure out where a jeweled arrowhead is that for all we know could be in Australia.”

“Damn Australian wizards stealing arrowheads the British stole fair and square. As for your question, first you'll notice that I'm not currently shot, thanks to Merula and Madam Pomfrey. Besides, I always smile. I like smiling. Smiling's my favorite.”

“That's another odd thing. Merula Snyde helping you. It is out of character for her.” Tulip seemed to suspect there was more to the story. _Keep it cool. She can't be sure about what happened last night. I was there and I'm still not entirely sure._ Meanwhile she began to corral Dennis as he'd wandered a bit.

Rowan's attention returned from the books he was no doubt checking for relevance. “That's actually a good point. Remember this is the same girl who locked us in a closet with devil's snare our first year.”

“I know. I know. I was there. Maybe she's starting to change.” _She's definitely changing, I just don't know into what._

“Perhaps you're a good influence on her Andrew Ward.” Tulip theorised, returning with her amphibious quarry.

“Okay, but this is something completely new, right? Her helping someone voluntarily?”

“What's new and who's helping people now?” Came a familiar older voice. Cresting the hill and making his way towards them was Bill Weasley, followed closely by his brother Charlie.

“Bill. Charlie. What are you doing here?” _Telling people one at a time is not going well. At this point I might as well tell everyone at once._

“We were making our way inside when we saw people under the tree. So we thought we would stop by and see what's new.” Bill replied.

“Especially since there's a rumor that you killed someone last night” his brother added.

Andrew let out a sigh. _That didn't take long to get around._ He quickly relayed the same information he'd given his housemates.

“Hmm. It is odd. You probably know her best Tulip. Is this something you'd ever expect from her?” The eldest Weasley asked.

“No. Not unless there was something she thought she could gain from it. You didn't give her anything, did you?” She raised an eyebrow while smirking at him.

_I think a favor definitely counts. Better deflect._ “I gave her a bunch of free bloodstains on her robes. Do those count?” He got a laugh out of the Wesleys and Rowan, but Tulip only looked at him suspiciously.

“Well, I can tell you from experience that people do change over the years here. The Merula you knew in first year is not the same Merula that went into the forest with Andrew last night. We're all teenagers, so all of us are trying to figure out who we are in some ways.” This is the benefit of having an older friend.

Andrew put a hand on Bill's shoulder. “I appreciate you sharing your wisdom with us old man.” The redhead laughed and pushed his arm off.

“I have some thoughts.” Charlie piped up.

“Are they about dragons?” everyone asked simultaneously, sharing a glance.

“No. Well yes a bit.” Everyone had a good laugh before Charlie continued. “Okay so everyone knows that dragons are deadly. But, once you spend time with them and they get to know you… well okay so they're still dangerous, but not as much. And they can be affectionate and protective of people they really like.”

“I think you just called Merula a deadly dragon and it feels right. She's still dangerous, but maybe now a little less so. I'll be sure to watch the teeth.” Bless the Wesleys. They always knew what to say.

"Yes, I'm sure the teeth will be where you're focused" Tulip once more chimed in.

Before he could worry about what she was implying, Andrew felt his stomach rumble. Oh right, I missed breakfast. “Well we aren't going to figure it out talking in circles here. Anyone else hungry? I missed breakfast.”

Rowan declined, deciding instead to go to his favorite place in the school, the library. The Weasleys and Tulip decided to come along, so the four of them set off for the great Hall to share a meal.

The remainder of the weekend was uneventful. Eventually all of his friends got the story, either from him or one of the people he'd told. Monday loomed, and with it potions class. It would be his first time seeing her since the hospital wing. _Are things going to be different between us? And if so is that good or bad?_

Monday morning he was waiting outside the door to potions when she walked up to him. “Ward. I hear you finally snapped and murdered someone. Is being cursed so bad you had to take someone's life?” It was simultaneously the same as always and completely different. She was insulting him, but it seemed to lack the malice it once had. Her smirk was genuine, and her eyes didn't have the “I'll kill you” look they normally did.

“Well if that's true Mer I guess we can add it to the list of things I'm better than you at. Say can I borrow some parchment? I've run out of room.” He smiled wide. _I never realized how much I enjoy this_.

She gave a short laugh. “Ha, this from the boy who made a rubbish beautification potion last week.”

“I guess some of us don't need any more beautification”

Their sparring was interrupted when Snape opened the classroom door. It started up again whenever they thought Snape was out of ear shot. This continued into their Care of Magical Creatures class that afternoon. It became their routine any time they saw each other, whether it was in class or in Hogwarts’ many halls. The latter seemed to be happening more frequently than it ever had. Merula was spending more time near the West tower, where the Ravenclaw common room was. After a few days Andrew realized he was frequently passing through the dungeons with no reason for being there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I have finished. Next two are both partially done. I'll try to finish and post them when I can. Spoiler alert, they're about the Celestial Ball.


	6. You're Just The Girl All The Boys Want To Dance With

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wild Celestial Ball appeared. There's only one witch Andrew wants to go with. But is it a good idea? And what if she isn't interested?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is a line from A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me" by Fall Out Boy

As they continued their new playful back and forth, some of Andrew's friends started to notice the change in the two former enemies. Most of them were simply baffled by it, although he was pretty sure Tulip was putting the pieces together faster than the others. Of course, all attention was pulled from him and everything else when Dumbledore called the entire 4th year into the great hall for an announcement. There was going to be a ball. The entire year was abuzz with talk of what to expect, what to wear, and who might bring what date.

Unfortunately Andrew had no time to join in the speculation, as he needed to help his friends. First Penny wanted to run to be in charge of the decorating committee. Once he'd helped her secure the position, she needed help on the committee making decorations. Then he had to convince Ben and Rowan to attend, as they had planned to sit the ball out.

Finally with only a few days left, he had a chance to consider what he'd be doing for the ball. He and Rowan were discussing it in potions class.

“So you haven't given any thought to whether you'll be going with anybody?” the bookish boy asked.

“I simply haven't had time.” he shrugged.

“Well you have time now. Is there anyone you're considering?”

“I mean, maybe. I'm just not sure whether it's a good idea.” _Don't look at her. Don't give yourself away._

“Ahem” came a cough from the other side of the table. _Speak of the devil..._ “Excuse me, but some of us are trying to brew our potions over here.”

Andrew turned his attention to her. “Then don't eavesdrop and you'll be able to focus on it.”

“Easier said than done. You're talking too loud for that. And not about anything interesting.”

“You don't think the ball is an interesting topic?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

The Snyde heiress turned her chin up at this. “I'm the most powerful witch at Hogwarts, Ward. You think I care about a stupid dance? Or who you're going with?”

“Alright. Well who are you going with then?”

Merula flusters a bit. “I... I haven't decided yet. I just have so many offers to choose from…”

“What?! Like who?!” Andrew tried and failed to keep the panic out of his voice. _Who else had asked her while I was busy helping everyone else? I should have made time to do it sooner._

Merula's face is starting to turn red. “Uh, well you see there's… professor! Ward is being a distraction!” She turns and calls out to Snape.

“Really? Very mature Mer.” Andrew hisses as the potions master makes his way over, looking as disagreeable as ever. The only response he receives is a mocking face.

Snape arrived at the table, peering down his nose at them. “Mr. Ward if your interest in potions is insufficient perhaps an afternoon sorting ingredients will help you gain a greater appreciation. You will remain after class.”

“Yes professor.” The boy replied dejectedly. So much for getting started on the ball. He turned his attention back to his friend.

Rowan appeared incredulous. “I can't believe she'd do something like that for no reason.”

Andrew simply shrugged. “I can. It's who she is. Let's just finish our potions so I can get started on my extra work.” The rest of the class was spent mostly in silence. It seemed everyone wanted to leave as soon as possible. As class ended everyone else hurried out the door, while Andrew made his way to Snape's desk to await his instructions.

The Slytherin head presented him with a medium sized box. “My shipment of fangs came in today, and it seems my supplier neglected to properly separate them based on creature. Surely even someone of your limited skill will be able to do so. You may begin.”

The work was tedious, but that did give his mind plenty of time to consider what he should do. He began pulling out different fangs and placed them on different areas of the table, which created the various piles he'd need to separate the box. _I'd like to go with Merula, but I can't tell if she's interested. The night in the forest and the get well note seem to imply she is. But then there's all our history prior to that and the fact that she just got me an unnecessary detention. Also who else asked her to go? Was that true or just a bluff? She was probably lying. Or maybe I just hope she was. Either way there's really no one else I'd rather go with. So I suppose it's her or no one…._

When his task was finished half an hour later, he retrieved several jars. He then filled and clearly labeled each jar with a single type of fang. This wasn't part of the instructions he had received, but after four years he'd gotten better at anticipating his potions master. He almost certainly would have been told to do this anyway. Afterwards he brought the newly filled jars to the dour instructor's desk and presented them. Snape raised an eyebrow and frowned, as if disappointed that he wouldn't be able to give more condescending directions. “That will do Ward. Your work has been adequate. You may leave.”

“Well professor, at least this gave me time to think about who to take to the ball. So long.” Andrew gave a brief wave as he crossed to the dungeon door.

“Ward.” The boy stopped in his tracks. “Thinking won't work. It's one’s heart that does the choosing, often against better judgement.”

He turned back towards his professor and looked in his eyes. “And if it chooses someone who won't have me?”

A look of pain entered the older man's eyes that Andrew had never seen from him. “Then you have my deepest sympathy.”

“Uhh, thanks for the advice professor.” _This is the weirdest advice I've ever gotten, although it actually does help. I have to go for it._

“You will mention this conversation to no one. Now leave my classroom.” He obeyed as quickly as his legs would allow.

* * *

 

He quickly wrote an invitation on a piece of parchment, folded it into an airplane, and enchanted it to find her. The message was simple.

  
Mer

Meet me in the courtyard

Ward

All he could do then was wait and hope she decided to show up. This was easier said than done, especially given the early December cold. Time seemed to be stretching itself. Everytime he checked his watch the seconds took longer to tick by. He tried pacing for a bit. When that didn't work he tried to practice some simple spells, but he kept getting his incantations wrong or his wand movements slightly off. He played with the snow for what he thought was 5 minutes, but his watch insisted was only 2.

Eventually the girl arrived, and stormed right up to him with his note clutched in her fist. She immediately began yelling at him. “Your note hit me in the back of the head Ward! I might just jinx you where you stand!”

“Hmm. I'll have to be more careful when using them in the future, it was supposed to hit your ear.”

“What do you want with me anyway? It's too cold to be outside. Is this about potions? You WERE distracting me. I'd rat you out again to Snape if I could.” She declared as she stared at him defiantly, almost daring him to challenge her.

“You think I've asked you here to talk about potions? I don't care about that.”

“Well it can't be because you want to talk about the ball again.” Realization dawned on her and her eyes grew larger in surprise. “Oh it is isn't it? You're going to blather on about the ball?” she threw both hands on to her forehead and let out an exasperated sigh.

“Yes, I did want to see you about the ball. See I don't have a date yet…” he began.

“What does that have to do with me Ward?” she interrupted dismissively with a trademark eye roll to drive the contempt home.

_Of course she wouldn't make this easy._ “I'm getting there if you'd let me finish. First I wanted to know if you've picked a date yet.”

“No. I'm not... I mean not yet. There are just so many to choose from. Why do you care?” she eyed him suspiciously, prepared for some kind of trick or prank.

He moved his arm to scratch the back of his head and suddenly found it very difficult to maintain eye contact or form sentences.. “Umm.. well, you know, since I'm not going with anyone, and you're also not going with anyone, so I thought maybe…”

Merula grew impatient. “Get on with it!”

Annoyed by this, Andrew no longer had trouble with eye contact. The two teens glared at each other. “Fine! Merula Snyde you're the most infuriating witch at Hogwarts! Will you please go to the Celestial Ball with me?” His body tensed in anticipation of the worst.

Merula was taken aback and took a few seconds to respond. “Seriously? Are you really asking me Andrew? Because if this is some kind of joke I will end you. But if you're serious then I will absolutely be your date. I enjoy our sparring, I just never knew if the feeling was mutual.”

“Yes I'm asking you! You challenge me like no one else, and I like a challenge. We'll have an amazing time, and if you get bored we can go somewhere to duel.” He grinned from ear to ear, elated at his invite being accepted. He had to resist the urge to jump for joy.

“Don't you dare tell anyone, but you were actually my first choice for a date. I just never got up the courage to ask you.” She looked away, a rare shy moment from the normally overly confident girl.

“Well at least one of us was brave enough to ask.” he said with a wink.

As if on cue she turned back to him with a smirk. “Shut up, you were blathering through it until I gave you the proper encouragement.”

“Proper encouragement of being a pain in the arse. Besides, I was just nervous because you made it seem like every bloke in Hogwarts was trying to go with you.” he fired back.

“Ah, yeah I may have slightly exaggerated.” She looked down and kicked a rock.

“I knew it you liar!”

“You did not. You were so worried and jealous you were stumbling on your words.”

“Is this what the whole ball will be for us? There's been so much to do preparing for it. I wonder what it will be like when we're actually there.”

“I hope so, this is our idea of fun. Well I can't tell you everything that will be there, but let me tell you what it'll be like to be my arm candy.” Her excitement for the upcoming ball seemed to grow the longer they talked about it.

“Should I be taking notes.”

"Yes, there will be a test on this." The smirk on her face grew into a smile. "Okay first thing you should know is that I actually really like punch, so if you can't find me check there."  
  
"Oh I know how much you love punch. Pretty sure my shoulder has a permanent bruise." He reached up and rubbed his shoulder to emphasize his point.

She lightly punched his other shoulder, her smile becoming a full on grin. "Well that's because you always push my buttons."

"Not my fault, your buttons are just so fun to push." He reached out with his index finger and tapped her on the end of her nose.

"I will bite you." She threatened, face scrunched up in annoyance.

"Don't you threaten me with a good time." He replied as he brushed some snow to take a seat next to the frozen fountain.

Merula shook her head, messy hair shifting from side to side. "Ugh. No one drives me crazy like you do Ward."

"The feeling is mutual." he said as he leaned against a pillar. "What else can I expect?"

"Well" she considered for a moment. "DON'T expect me to be nice to all your dumb friends."

"I wouldn't dream of it, although if you could stop short of making Ben cry I'd appreciate it." he replied.

She considered for a moment. "Maybe. That'll depend on how well you keep me entertained." She was still smirking, but the cold had started to redden her cheeks.

"Challenge accepted. Consider me your personal jester." he said with an awkward bow from his seated position.

"Alright, well what can I expect from you?" she asked with eyebrow raised.

Andrew began to fidget a bit. "Well I feel I must warn you again that I'm a terrible dancer. I wasn't kidding in the forest that night."

"Hmm, I suppose I can dance good enough for the both of us." she said as she began rubbing her gloved hands together.

"Other than that I don't know what to expect. We'll just have to see what happens when we get there." he shrugged "For now I need to find Andre and see what he can do about an outfit." With that he once again rose to his feet.

"You don't have an outfit?" she asked incredulously. "Ward the ball is Saturday. Why have you put everything off until the last minute like this?"

"Yes I know when it is. Did you miss the part where I said I've been busy helping people?" he reminded her.

"You really need to stop helping others at your own expense. You realize when I say Saturday I mean this Saturday, right?" she continued to press, stressing the urgency he'd need to find something.

"Thank you for caring, I'll take that under advisement. I'm well aware of which Saturday the ball is." he said as he walked towards the entrance to Hogwarts

"Ward that's in 5 days!" she shouted as she moved to accompany him.

"I just love how you keep repeating things when you know that I know. You could have a real future as a calendar." he joked with a sarcastic smile. "Look I'll take care of it."

"You'd better. I can't have a date who's poorly dressed and a bad dancer." she chimed as they neared the massive open doors.

"On the bright side it would give you something to tease me about forever." he offered as they walked in. The temperature change was immediate as they crossed the threshold that was magically enchanted to keep the cold out and the heat in.

"That sounds nice, but I have plenty of ammo for that." she chimed with an eye roll. "I'd much rather you show up in something half decent for once." Both students took the opportunity to shake the snow off of themselves in the doorway.

"And with that I must be off. Gotta look for my fashion expert in the common room. My date can be quite picky." Unsure of an appropriate goodbye, he paused a second. A hug seemed too personal for now, but a handshake seemed too cold. In the end he decided to pat her on the head, which ended up being awkward for both of them. "Uh, see ya." he mumbled as he hurried towards the West Tower.

"You know you'll be lucky if you still have a date in 5 days!" She shouted as he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note on time. Since Hogwarts Mystery is never very specific about when things happen, I've decided to make it up. So the fight with Torvus is in late September and the Ball is early December.


	7. Footloose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew and Merula attend the Celestial Ball together. But will they enjoy themselves? And how will their friends react?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took forever and I apologize for that. My brain was determined to exclusively come up with ideas for future chapters. Especially after Year 5 chapters 30 and 31 came out. Plus it ended up being a long chapter. I'll try to do better for the next one. It is one I've been looking forward to.
> 
> Title is Footloose by Kenny Loggins. Pretty much a requirement for an 80's dance chapter.

Andrew paced in front of the mirror before staring into it for the 5th time since he'd gotten dressed. Nothing had changed. The same sea green eyes stared back at him. His medium length brown hair was still slicked back, held in place and straightened by a combination of hair gel and a few charms. His suit remained the same, black with white swirling patterns along the sleeves and the bottom of the jacket. The shirt he wore underneath was a dark green covered by a black vest, and he'd even added a pair of green feathers to his lapel to accent everything. He began speaking to his mirror counterpart, hoping he'd be able to convince one of them that everything would be fine.

"Look, you'll be great. Just act the same way you have since the forest. She already admitted she likes it and wanted to go with you before you asked. You got this. Let's do it!" He slapped himself in the face in the hopes some adrenaline would get him moving. It worked. He turned his back on the mirror and began making his way to the Great Hall.

* * *

 

When he arrived at the ball he finally got to see the results of his work on decorations. There was the giant model of the moon dominating the ceiling, accompanied by a scattering of lights and streamers. He immediately began searching for his date, but kept getting interrupted when his many friends greeted him. "I have too many friends." he mumbled to himself as he finally pulled away from a very appreciative Ben and Rowan.

As he approached the punch bowl he finally saw her. She was standing immediately next to it, alternating between scanning the room and taking nervous sips of her drink. Her normally untamed hair had been straightened, and she wore a black dress with a green stripe around the middle. As he drew closer she spotted him, her face lit up as she set her drink down and began making her way to meet him.

"Ward!" she called out as they drew closer "I was about to give up on you. I thought maybe you changed your mind."

"And miss an opportunity to fight with you? Never. You look lovely by the way" his smile growing as they came face to face.

"Well, I made an effort. Clearly you did too. I mean you look nice. Very nice. What made you decide to wear green?" she asked as she reached up to straighten the feathers.

"Well I was willing to bet all the gold in Gringotts you'd be wearing green. So I thought you'd appreciate it. Not bad for 5 days, eh Mer?" he asked with a smirk.

She looked him over once more before making eye contact again. "Yeah well, I'm going to give Egwu all the credit. Come on. You. Me. Dancefloor. Let's see how bad you really are." She dragged him by the arm as he reluctantly followed onto the dance floor.

They found their way to an empty section of dancefloor, and Merula instantly started moving to the beat of the music. Meanwhile Andrew… started to sway a little. He stuck his hands in his pockets and tried to make himself look small. Being almost six foot tall, he was pretty sure he wasn't succeeding. Merula scowled at him.

"What are you doing? Dance!" she shouted, pulling on his arms to get his hands out again.

"I told you," he said as his face turned crimson "I don't know how."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Ward you've fought a giant knight made of ice and a centaur, yet you're afraid to dance? Just, do something. Move around. Have fun."

Andrew breathed in deeply through his nose and pretended he was releasing all his fears when he exhaled from his mouth . It was a trick his mother had taught her boys when they were young. Okay fun. He knew how to have fun. He just had to think of everything he knew about dances. When the idea came to him a wicked grin came with it. He brought his hands together at chest height, and began rotating them in a large counterclockwise circle.

"Wow, you really are a terrible dancer"

"Yeah well you're the one on a date with a terrible dancer. How embarrassing," as he shook his head "tsk tsk tsk."

"For you! You're the one making a fool of himself."

Both students had broad smiles now. This is what they had come for. To argue about anything and everything.

"Nah, I think I'm making a fool of both of us."

"What are you even doing? It looks like you’re stirring an imaginary potion."

"This is a new muggle dance. I think it's called the Lettuce Patch."

His smile somehow grew wider in anticipation. This was bound to get a reaction. The only question was whether it would be shouting or disbelief. Or both. Both would be good.

Merula's movements came to a sudden halt. She looked at him like he had two heads. "The what? Why on Earth are you doing a stupid muggle dance with an even stupider name?"

"Well, part of it is because its simple enough even I can do it. But mostly it's because I knew it would annoy you and that's always fun. You’re the one who said I should have fun."

She rolled her eyes and started dancing again

They danced to a few more songs before Merula grew tired of seeing the 'Lettuce Patch'.

"Ward stop. Do something else. Do anything else" she ordered.

"Alright, but remember I warned you."

He tried to improvise something to go with the music. Unfortunately, this ended up not being anything most would consider to be a dance. Instead it was more like rapid erratic limb movement. His legs were almost moving in time with the beat, but his upper body seemed to be moving with no timing whatsoever.

Merula tried and failed to hold back a laugh. "Hahaha. Now it looks like you've been jinxed. Or confunded."

"If anyone asks I'm going to tell them you did it." He countered.

She moved closer and slapped his shoulder. "Don't do that, people will believe you!"

"Well yeah, that's why it'd be funny" he said as his forehead began to sweat from his overenthusiastic 'dancing'.

"Why'd you even come to a dance if you don't like dancing? Glutton for punishment Ward?" She asked these questions while their eyes locked. Neither seemed interested in looking away.

"Actually I just came to spend time with you." He shrugged. He’d thought that had been obvious. It was not like he was there for the dancing

Her face softened in a way he'd only seen a few times. "Wow Ward, that's…" but he never got a chance to find out what that was. Keeping his eyes on hers for so long had caused him to lose track of where his feet were. One of them came down right on top of one belonging to his date.

"Ouch! That's my foot you clumsy giraffe!" She shouted at him as she took pressure off the assaulted foot. Her face was contorted in a combination of pain and anger.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry! Are you okay?" His face fell as he worried if she was injured. He moved to get in a position to help her walk.

"Fine!" she snarled, pushing him away. "I'm going to sit at a table!" She limped slightly but was determined to get to a seat on her own.

"Uh, yeah. You sit and I'll go get you some punch." He called after her, turning in the other direction.

* * *

  
Andrew hurried to the punch bowl, afraid he'd ruined the entire night. He found a line of half a dozen others and took his place at the end. There he was soon joined by two of his friends.

First the pretty and popular blonde girl Penny Haywood, expert in all things potions and gossip. She was wearing a yellow skirt with a white top, smiling like always. The other was the cowardly Gryffindor Ben Copper, looking much more nervous than he had at the beginning of the night. Red pants and a gold shirt were paired with a black jacket and hat. A red bowtie completed the colorful outfit.

He was pretty sure they'd come to ask him about his choice of companion for the evening. They probably weren't the only ones curious. Hell Ward still had trouble believing this was happening and he’d been the one to ask her..

"Hey friends. You know if this ball was a joke I'd say it has a great punchline." He'd hoped to get them off track with a joke, but the tactic didn't seem to work. Penny still looked determined and Ben still looked nervous.

"So, you and Merula." Penny said, getting straight to the point. "Very interesting. What's the story there?" He knew behind her smile was a girl seeking information. Andrew and Merula were each the subject of frequent rumors and gossip as individuals. Them being together was a gold mine to the busybodies of the school, always poking their nose into people's personal lives.

"Oh, you guys know how much I like arguing. I have a whole night of it to look forward to." They each took a step forward as the line moved.

"Are you sure?" Ben asked. He leaned in and lowered his voice. "You're not being blackmailed or threatened, right?"

"No, none of that. Oh, maybe it's the imperius curse." He did a silly voice and smiled when mentioning the curse, but his friend still looked terrified at the thought. He put a hand on the nervous Gryffindor's shoulder trying to settle his friend. "Ben, relax. I'm here of my own volition. There's nothing to worry about." The line moved again.

"Ok but is this the start of something more?" Penny piped in.

Andrew was confused. "Is what the start of more? Did I miss part of the conversation?"

Penny let out an exasperated sigh. "What I mean is are the two of you going to be dating after tonight?"

Andrew paused at that.. He'd been so focused on this date he hadn't considered what would happen after. Would they date? Is that something she even wants? Is it something he wanted? He scratched his chin, deep in thought as the line moved.

"Oh no, if that happens is she going to be around the group? You know how mean she's been to me. I don't know if I can be around her." Panic began creeping into Ben's voice. He started looking all around, as if Merula was going to show up any second.

Andrew did his best to deescalate the conversation with an honest answer. "Look I don't know what's going to happen going forward. I hadn't even considered any of that until just now. This is something we'd have to discuss first." He had no idea how he was going to bring it up to the girl in question. Asking her to this had been hard enough. They moved forward again as Andrew prepared for more inquiries.

"Well think about it now." Penny pressed. "Does it sound like something you would want?" Her eyes were filled with curiosity but also a hint of concern.

As Andrew continued to mull it over, Ben seemed to get irritated. "I don't see how you're even considering it. She's a bully to everyone and she tried to kill you."

Andrew got defensive as they drew closer to the front of the line. "Hey that was one time and she was just trying to scare us. I know she's not the nicest person but that's just how she was raised. People can change if they're given a chance." He thought about mentioning the fact that she's different when they're alone, but decided it was too personal.

"He is just worried given all the history between you two." the Hufflepuff girl interjected. "Ben, I'm sure you'll get used to it after some time."

"Fat chance" he replied.

"Penny you are talking like this is a certainty. I have no idea how this is going to go. I've always been terrible at divinations after all." Andrew hoped a joke would lighten the mood. His mind raced for something else that was funny, all while the line lurched ahead once more.

Penny smiled at the humor, and Ben's tension seemed to lessen a bit. She gave Andrew a supportive pat on the back. "Whatever happens I'm sure you'll make the right decision. We've got your back, right Ben?"

"Err, yeah. You should do what makes you happy. As long as it doesn't mean she'll be around me."

"Thanks," Andrew began as they came to the front of the line and started filling cups. "I appreciate your support and concern. I suppose you'll find out what's going to happen tomorrow. I've got to go now, but it was nice talking. Later."

They went their separate ways, Andrew with a cup in each hand. He walked quickly, all the while in contemplation. What was he going to do? Should he ask her to date? If he does, what will she say?

* * *

 

While this was happening, Merula had found an empty table and sat down. She put her foot on an empty chair and examined it. There seemed to be no serious damage, just temporary pain. She put a stop to that with a quick healing spell.

She grumbled the entire time, with the occasional audible word. "Stupid…Ward…clumsy" She looked around to see where he'd gone and saw him in the punch line. He was being approached by Haywood and Copper. Suddenly the word 'blonde' was added to her grumblings.

Approaching the table came her best friend, Ismelda Murk. She was a girl with pale skin, long dark hair, and darker interests. She seemed obsessed with death and the unforgivable curses. Wearing a plain black dress with straps that crisscrossed over her shoulders, she stomped up beside Merula.

"Merula what are you doing?" There was a hint of worry in what was usually an indifferent voice.

She grunted at the question. "I'm trying to make my foot feel better after the giraffe stepped on it."

"That's not what I meant and you know it." The dark girl continued to press.

Merula rolled her eyes. "It's just one night. I'm having fun, but it doesn't have to mean anything." Her emotions went to war in her. Part of her wanted it to mean something, while the other part didn't want to deal with the consequences.

"But his dad is a Muggle. He might as well be a Mud…" her friend began only to be cut off.

"I know what he is!" she snapped. She didn't want to hear him called Mudblood. She'd heard it plenty in the past and had called a number of people by the slur, including him. But ever since they'd gotten closer hearing it used to describe him made her… uncomfortable. "Having fun for one night doesn't make me a blood traitor."

There was a quiet moment between them. Ismelda blew some hair out of her face. "Merula you're my best friend. My only real friend. I'm just worried because people are already talking about it."

"Who is? I'll teach them to gossip about the most powerful witch at Hogwarts." She put on a sneer but inside the fear got stronger. Just one night already had them doubting her loyalty to a pure wizarding bloodline. She was starting to doubt it too. How could she possibly consider spending more time with him? Even if he did have pretty eyes and made her laugh with his daft jokes. Inside the battle raged on.

"It doesn't matter. Look you know I've got your back, but if things go any further you'll upset a lot of people." The girl wore her worry on her face, a rare display of emotion from the normally stoic girl.

Merula rolled her eyes. "I told you, it is a one time thing." She scanned the room and spotted Barnaby Lee. She got her friend's attention and pointed him out. "Look who is dancing alone. This could be your chance." Using her friend's crush to get rid of her might be low, but she needed to be alone to think.

Ismelda looked between the two, clearly torn. In the end she went, but not before leaving her friend with some advice. "Remember what your parents would think." With that she was off to pursue her own romance.

Finally alone, Merula looked down and went into deep thought. Damn Ismelda for bringing up her parents. She knew what was expected of her, but it was clashing with what she wanted. She was surprised to learn that she really did want to spend more time with him. He may be annoyingly friendly and never know when to shut up, but that was all okay. She was happier when his goofy smile was around. Ugh, this was complicated and she was sure he wasn't going to understand.

* * *

 

She was so deep in thought she didn't notice Andrew's approach until he cleared his throat, startling her back to the present. "Ahem. Your punch, my lady." He performed an extravagant bow when giving her the cup, earning a stare from the girl.

"You are daft Ward. Sit down before you do any more damage." Her face betrayed her, with a hint of a smile coming through as she removed her foot from the chair beside her.

Andrew sheepishly took the indicated seat, avoiding eye contact. "Uh, speaking of which. Is your foot okay?" Please don't hate me. Please don't hate me.

She rolled her eyes at his continued guilt. "Yes Ward, it's nothing. You stepped on my foot, I think I'll manage to survive."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was fine. Gradually his smile started to return. "Good. Glad to hear it." A silence settled between the teenagers, each contemplating what their future together could be. What it should be. Eventually Andrew began to look around for a new topic, and he got a devilish grin when his eyes fell on the dancefloor behind them. "Mer! Mer! Mer! Look" he cried, blindly attempting to hit her shoulder and get her attention.

"What?! What do you want?" She slapped his hand away. He merely pointed, and her face fell when she saw what he was indicating. "No! Why? It's so stupid!"

In the center of the dancefloor was a tan skinned boy clearly doing the 'Lettuce Patch'. He was adding some flair and was better at it than Ward had been, but the underlying move was still the same.

The two looked at each other and erupted into a fit of laughter. Andrew almost fell out of his chair. Merula nearly knocked over her punch. After a minute they were able to settle down. The out of breathe pair struck up conversation anew.

Merula spoke first. "So Ward, we've only ever really talked about either school or the vaults." She thought for a second. "Actually you know about my love of singing. Meanwhile I don't know anything about you. What do you do when you're home and not here bugging me?" She poked his ribs as she teased him.

"Merula Snyde are you taking an interest in actually getting to know me?" Andrew feigned shock in the most exaggerated way possible, by pretending to faint.

Merula rolled her eyes at the boy's antics. Of course that didn't stop the smile starting to form on her face. "I'm already regretting it." she sniped.

"Well, aside from normal stuff like watching quidditch, I do have one hobby. I like to create things. Enchant new and exciting magical stuff. Nothing major yet, but I'm getting better. I've been studying books on ancient runes when I have free time and no vault leads. They're supposed to help." He was nervous at first, but the more he spoke about his passion the more enthusiastic he got.

"Just like a Ravenclaw to study something they don't have to. Got any big ideas in that thick skull of yours?" She reached over and knocked on his head, which made him laugh

He leapt at the chance to tell someone about his ideas. "Haha. Ok, I had this idea a few months ago. Imagine if you could store a stunning spell inside something, like a ball, which can disperse it over an area. Then if you get in trouble you can throw it to incapacitate groups of people." He was on the edge of his seat at this point, making exaggerated hand motions as he explained.

"Why would someone need that?" she scoffed at him.

Andrew got a familiar twinkle in his eye. "It might be helpful for people with loads of enemies. Know anyone like that Mer?" he teased.

"I could take on multiple opponents." the girl countered indignantly. "I'm the most powerful witch at Hogwarts."

"Whatever you say Mer." He gave her a smirk and a wink to get under her skin.

"Hmph. So is it just a hobby or are you going to actually try to make a career out of your ridiculous ideas?"

"Well I'd love to create professionally, but mum keeps hinting I should follow in her footsteps." He knew he'd messed up as soon as the words were out of his mouth. She was bound to ask what it was his mother did and he was afraid it would make things awkward.

"And what does she do?" She leaned in with increased interest. Her curiosity had been piqued, and he knew why. Aside from his brother's disappearance and the fact that his father was a Muggle, most people didn't know much about his home life. He preferred it that way. The only reason his father's status was known is because he'd blurted it out first year hoping it would get Merula to ease up on Ben and focus on him. Anytime people would ask he'd deflect with humor.

He winced and ran his fingers through his hair, muttering the answer. "Err, she's sorta an auror."

Merula's smile shifted into a frown and she eyed him angrily. Her hands balled into fists at her side. "Ward if your mum was one of the ones who arrested…"

Andrew quickly cut her off before she got really angry. "She wasn't, she wasn't. I promise. Trust me." He looked into her eyes and hoped with all his might she would believe.

"Why should I trust you? I... I don't think you're lying. But how would you even know whether she did or not? You can't know everything she worked on." Her fists unclenched and she relaxed slightly. Still she eyed her date suspiciously, unsure whether he was being honest.

"I know because…well it's a bit of a story." He did his calming breathe. Air goes in, fear comes out. Just like mum taught. "Ok. Have you heard of Bellatrix Lestrange?" He couldn't believe he was going to tell Merula Snyde of all people what happened.

Her suspicion and anger shifted to surprise and awe. "Bellatrix Lestrange? As in THE Bellatrix Lestrange, second in command to the Dark Lord himself? My parents only mentioned her a few times and even they seemed afraid of her."

"Well that's because she's an awful bitch who deserves something worse than Azkaban." Andrew was rarely angry or vindictive, but Bellatrix was the exception after what she did. It was unforgivable.

"Ward I've never seen you like this before. I like it." Merula wore a mischievous grin. This was a side of Ward most people never saw. It wasn't a side he liked, so of course she would.

Just then a pair of out of breathe Gryffindors flopped into chairs on the opposite side of the table. Andrew grew more nervous. His foot began tapping the floor as he looked around and saw all the students attending the ball. There were too many. They'd walk by on their way to the dancefloor. If he was going to tell her, he wanted it to be private.

He leaned in and spoke softly. "Would you be okay finding somewhere else to talk? Somewhere with less ears around."

"Of course. I HAVE to hear more. Let's go." They left the great hall together, heading for a nearby abandoned classroom. There Andrew would reveal the first in a series of events that lead to his family falling apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I did a couple new things this chapter. I used regular text instead of italics for inner thoughts and I tried writing a bit of Merula's POV. Any comments you have about those things or just the chapter in general would be super appreciated. I'm trying to get better at this and feedback is always helpful.
> 
> Oh, also since Bellatrix comes up this chapter I want say upfront that I have no intention of changing anything book canon. At least as much of it as I remember. Ward isn't going to swoop in and heroically defeat her if this fic gets as far as Battle of Hogwarts. Molly Weasley still gets her BAMF moment.
> 
> Had to make a small edit because I didn't member the specifics of how wizard racism works.


	8. All I Know Is My Gut Says Maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew reveals his Tragic Backstory ™ as the rivals learn more about each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a Futurama reference.
> 
> This chapter contains a small Easter egg/reference to one of my favorite fics I've read, Fear Itself by London_Halcyon. Which hopefully is cool and not a fanfic faux pas I don't know about. Either way the author puts out quality stuff. Plus she was helpful and encouraging when I first started posting. So yeah, check it out. Or don't. I'm not here to tell you how to live your life.

Due to its size, Hogwarts had several rooms which went unused for a majority of the year. The pair chose one on the third floor. It was close enough that they didn't have to sneak through the corridors long, while also being far enough away from the Great Hall that they wouldn't be easily found. At least that's what they hoped.

 

The teens looked about the dark room, quickly lighting their wands. It was like any other classroom, if a lot more dusty. They lit a few of the sconces, trying to avoid giving themselves away while also allowing them to see each other. They found a table to sit at. A few scourgify spells were enough to clean the dust off their chosen area.

 

Andrew began slowly tapping his foot. He ran his fingers through his hair. He should not be doing this. Every instinct he had told him to stay quiet. Well not every instinct. A powerful urge was telling him he needed to get it out. To tell someone and share the load. Logically he knew she was probably the worst person to do this with. But his heart was urging him to tell her about his whole life anyway.

 

"Look Mer. I know you can use the things I'm going to tell you against me. Please don't." His eyes were trained on her while she wiped a bit of stay dust off her dress.

 

She looked up at him with a smirk. "What if I get really mad at you?"

 

He looked into her eyes, pleading with her. "Please." His voice was quiet. Serious. "I'm not ready for people to know everything."

 

Merula softened, laying a hand on one of his arms. "I promise Ward." She paused, uncertain for a second. "I…I swear on the Snyde name." He was shocked. The Snyde name was one of the most important things to her. Maybe that's why he believed her. Almost everything in their history told him not to. She had lied to him so many times. But here, staring into her eyes in the firelight, he knew she meant it.

 

Deep breath. "Okay. So Bellatrix was wanted for a lot, but the biggest thing was that she and a few others had tortured two aurors so much that it caused them to lose their minds." 

 

"Everyone knows that. Skip to the good part." Merula urged impatiently. Did she not understand that this wasn't a good part kind of story?

 

"Hold your hippogriffs, I'm the one telling the story here. Do you want to hear it or not?" He fired back.

 

"Fine" she reluctantly agreed. Her arms crossed as she continued staring at him.

 

"Good. So it is January three years ago and a group of aurors went to capture Lestrange, her husband, and their companions. A battle ensued. Eventually it was just mum and Bellatrix still standing. But then my mother was thrown by the force of a curse that hit near her. It caused her to lose her wand. Bellatrix stood victorious. Mother thought she was about to die, but her opponent had... other ideas." As he told the story Andrew's foot tapped faster and faster.

 

"What do you mean other ideas?" she asked with a hint of concern creeping in.

 

Andrew swallowed hard. No turning back. He cleared his throat. "Ahem. She told my mother she'd leave her something, so that everyone would be reminded not to cross the Dark Lord’s faithful. Then she began burning my mother's wand arm away. The pain was so intense it caused her to briefly lose consciousness." His hand began to shake a little.

 

His companion was stunned. "What? Lestrange burned her arm away? As in it was just gone? How did she get out?" She had grown tense, clearly enraptured by the story.

 

"We're getting there. Patience Merula. So mum comes to and Lestrange is dueling with someone. Apparently another auror had arrived late. No one is paying attention to her, but she can't find her wand to help. So instead she sneaks up on her quarry and punches her right in the face."

 

"No! There's no way!" Merula's on the edge of her seat now, yelling excitedly. She's shaking her head in disbelief. Her hair that had been straightened at the beginning of the night was slowly regaining its usual disheveled appearance.

 

"I swear on my life. This was enough of a distraction for the latecomer to take down Lestrange. Mum passed out again and when she woke she was in St. Mungo's. We didn't get to see her for a couple days. When we did she was missing about two thirds of her right forearm. Apparently Lestrange had used some kind of cursed fire. I don't know. We were all just glad she survived." Andrew's nerves relaxed slightly, remembering the relief when he and Jacob had finally been allowed to visit. They'd both cried when hugging her. It was a bittersweet memory though, as it was the last time his whole family was together.

 

Merula smirked. "Wow Ward. Don't let this go to your head, but I think your mum might be my hero." She laughed, and Ward managed to chuckle a bit. "How come I've never heard this story?"

 

He shrugged. "She was able to call in a few favors to keep a lot of the details out of the Prophet. Convinced them to focus on the crimes of the people captured instead and gave all the credit to the other guy. He was already pretty well known." He managed a half smile. "You might have heard rumors here, but this cute witch has kept everyone focused on my brother and the fact that I'm 'cursed'."

 

"Shut up" she ordered, her cheeks turning red. She turned away to hide her face briefly. "Don't even see why you're embarrassed for people to know this. All it does is make your mum seem even more impressive than you are." He raised an eyebrow at this. "Not that you're impressive or anything!" she quickly added with another flash of embarrassment.

 

"You don't get it. Yes she was amazing but she could have died! She would have if Lestrange didn't decide torture was more fun!" His voice had raised more than he meant it to. He managed to lower it again, but can't seem to slow his foot down any. "Plus this is when everything starts falling apart and I just don't want to think or talk about any of it. Because people already talk about the next part enough." 

 

Merula seemed confused. "Come on. You of all people should have put it together by now. Three months later is when Jacob was expelled and then subsequently disappeared." He stuffed his hands in his pockets to hide the shaking. All the emotions he tended to keep hidden and not focus on were flooding him now. Fear. Sadness. Despair. Anger. Confusion. All swirling around his head.

 

"Oh." Realization struck her. "Both of those happening so close… I didn't…" Her face softened and her eyes got a sad look. Ugh. There it was, exactly what he'd been afraid of. She was pitying him already, and he wasn't even done.

 

"Well that's still not the end of it. See after Jacob's disappearance dad decided magic was too dangerous. He wanted to keep me from Hogwarts. He and mum started fighting a lot. They tried to hide it, but couldn't. Not really. Two months later he moved out. I still see him sometimes when I'm not here, but…" he trails off. He shouldn't be saying this. He should have changed the subject. Instead he was being overwhelmed. There were too many emotions he didn't want to sort out. And why did his breathing seem weird? He needed something to do. Anything to keep his mind occupied.

 

"Wait he just left?" Merula asked incredulously. But instead of answering Andrew stood up and began quickly pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. He frantically scanned the room. "Ward? What are you doing? Have you finally gone mad?"

 

"Nothing" came his curt reply. "I just… I need to find something to do." He looked over the chairs and tables. Perhaps he could stack them into some kind of tower. That would take some thought to engineer.

 

Just as he was deciding on a base of four chairs each holding up a table leg, his attention was called back to his old rival. "Humph! You know you're being very self centered right now Ward!"

 

He stopped his pacing and slowly turned back to face her, completely bewildered. Surely he'd misheard. "What? I'm being… What?!" Her arms were crossed in front of her and she looked quite annoyed.

 

"Honestly we've been talking about you for ages. You know, contrary to popular belief the world does not revolve around Hogwarts' famous cursebreaker."

 

He slowly made his way towards his former chair. How was he at fault? "But...but you were asking questions. Would you have preferred I ignore them?" He took a seat, sea green eyes searching violet ones for information, trying to work out what was happening.

 

"Oh, blaming me for your problems. Very original Ward." She rolled her eyes and a small smirk began to form.

 

Andrew seemed to warm as they fell back into their comfortable banter. "In my defense you **are** the source of at least half of my problems."

 

"Only half?" she scoffed. "I must be getting soft. I suppose I'll have to redouble my efforts. I should be the cause of seventy-five percent minimum."

 

"Looking forward to seeing what you come up with." A smile began to return to him and all of a sudden it was like nothing had happened. He leaned his chair back on its hind legs, casually balancing himself.

 

"You a're going to fall and I am going to laugh when you do." she shot at him, looking rather pleased with herself for some reason.

 

He raised an eyebrow and his smile grew. "Oh? Worried about me now are you Mer?"

 

"No!" she insisted as her cheeks reddened. "I'm just… I'm worried you'll damage the chair." she offered weakly.

 

"Yes, I'm sure these chairs are your favorites." he responded with a hint of smugness. "Alright, if you're tired of talking about me then I'll ask something about you."

 

"It is about time we got to an interesting topic."

 

"Well somewhere in my rambling we discussed my future career. What do you plan to do when you're done being the best witch at Hogwarts?" She'd never discussed anything beyond beating him to the vaults. He was incredibly curious what she envisioned for herself as an adult.

 

Merula looked at the ground briefly before making eye contact and pointing at him. "You have to promise not to laugh!"

 

Andrew was so taken aback that he almost lost his balance. "What? Why would I laugh?" Her eyes simply narrowed in response. "Alright, I solemnly swear I won't so much as chuckle." He put his hands up in mock surrender.

 

"Iwanttobeahealer" she eventually blurted out, avoiding eye contact.

 

"Slow down. You want to what?"

 

"BE A HEALER!" She shouted at him. "Honestly get your ears checked." The small witch crossed her arms and waited for a response.

 

"Oh, well that's interesting. Wait why would I laugh at that? It's not like you want to be a mime." Being a healer wasn't embarrassing. He couldn't figure out why she thought he'd laugh.

 

"A mime? Why in the **hell** would I want to be a mime?" she asked crossly, seemingly just as confused as he was.

 

The boy shrugged. "Well it was the most ridiculous career I could think of. Don't know what's funny about being a healer. First hand experience says you'd be good at it." he added while pointing to his once injured shoulder.

 

"Come off it. I know you're gonna have a laugh later about 'Mean Merula' wanting to help people" she accused while putting air quotes around the first nickname she'd gotten at Hogwarts. Andrew felt a brief pang of regret for helping spread it back then.

 

"Just because it might be ironic doesn't mean it's funny. Plus you're clever enough to be great at it. Merlin knows, you'll probably end up curing something and being the greatest witch at St. Mungo's" he said, attempting to encourage her. "Besides, no one calls you Mean Merula anymore."

 

"Oh yeah? What do they call me now?"

 

Andrew put an arm behind his head again. "Err, some people may refer to you as the most powerful bitch at Hogwarts…" he admitted. 

 

A flash of anger on his date's face caused him to instinctively lean away. Unfortunately this threw his balance off completely, causing him to fall backwards with a yelp. There was a loud thunk as his head hit the stone floor. His momentum carried him into a roll so he ended up lying facedown.

 

Merula laughed just as she said she would. "Haha. I knew it." When she didn't get an immediate response she added, "still alive Ward?"

 

"No." Came the slightly muffled reply from the prone form. "I have died of embarrassment." he added as he began to move again.

 

"Oh no. Whatever will I do without you being a giant pain in my arse?" She was grinning as she stood and made her way towards him.

 

The Ravenclaw drew himself into a sitting position. "Never fear. I'll just haunt you. Then I can be an even bigger pain." His crooked smile was already back in place.

 

"Well hold still," she commanded while moving behind him "I'm going to make sure you're not bleeding in front of me **again**."

 

"Yes madam Snyde" he teased.

 

She briefly examined the back of his head before reporting, "Good news, it seems your thick skull is actually good for something. You're fine."

* * *

 

As the two students continued their conversation, they discovered more about each other. They revealed their favorite classes; she liked the structure of potions, while he enjoyed applying charms to objects. Sweets were also discussed. He appreciated the unpredictability of Every Flavored Beans and she claimed to have one of the best chocolate frog card collections in the country. 

 

Merula told him about her ordeal learning the patronus charm the previous year. She cast the spell and made the spectral blackbird fly around the room, her smugness palpable as he openly admired her skill.

 

Andrew in turn revealed that he was an animagus. His form shifted, arms flattening into wings, face bending to form a beak. Where once stood a boy now sat the a peregrine falcon with hints of green in his blue feathers.. He did a lap of the room before changing back. Merula started calling him 'bird brain' for a bit.

 

They discussed their home lives. Andrew talked about going between two houses and how much his parents had changed since Jacob's disappearance. Merula tried to downplay the loneliness of essentially taking care of herself since her parents' arrest, her only guardian an aunt who seemingly had no time for her.

* * *

 

"Damn is that the right time? I didn't realize we'd talked for this long" the girl stated two hours later while she grabbed his wrist to get a better look at the watch. Andrew's heart paused at the physical contact, brief though it was. He sincerely hoped that his cheeks weren't as red as they felt.

 

"I'm pretty sure half of it was you listing every chocolate frog card you own."

 

"It was not **every** card! Just the rarest ones. I'll have you know several of them are quite valuable" came the indignant reply.

 

"Oooh. I've never seen valuable cardboard before. Perhaps you should invite me to visit so that we might correct this oversight" he added playfully, subconsciously leaning closer.

 

Merula scoffs at this. "Pft. Right. As if you'd want to come visit me at the manor."

 

"Of course I would. I'd like any opportunity to spend time with you." He imagined the two of them alone, laughing about something on a couch. In his mind they were sitting quite close.

 

Her shocked face slowly grows sullen. "Wh… I… War… I don't know if that's a good idea." She looks away, refusing to make eye contact.

 

Andrew noticed the change in his date, but still attempted to press on. "Okay, that's fair. We can just see each other more while we're at Hogwarts." He tried to sound positive, but in the back of his mind he knew something was wrong.

 

The girl sighed deeply. "Ward I… I'm not sure if I can do that. It's… well it's complicated." Her words came out awkwardly. Her usual confidence had disappeared.

 

The Ravenclaw's heart dropped. His shoulders drooped and he hung his head. He'd messed it up. He spent a moment mentally reviewing the entire evening and picking out every mistake. "I see. Sorry. I misinterpreted what was going on. I thought you were enjoying our date" he mumbled as he stood from his chair. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go throw myself off the astronomy tower."

 

As he began walking away, his left hand was suddenly snatched. He turned and looked at her full of conflicting emotions. He wasn't sure if he should be happy they were holding hands or crushed by the fact that she didn't want to see him again. He had to force himself to make eye contact. The violet eyes that he so adored looked as sad as he felt.

 

"Ward, it's not that. I've truly enjoyed tonight. It's honestly probably the best night of my life." Their eyes were locked onto each other. Looking into them, he thought she was being honest. "I just… well it's complicated. I have to consider what people will think."

 

His mind raced. If it wasn't a mistake he made it must be something about him. Something others might judge her for. The green on her dress sparked his mind. No. It couldn't be that… could it?

 

"Tell me this isn't about my father" he softly requested. Please don't let this be over some stupid blood. Something he had no control over.

 

"I… there's a lot of people that judge you for it. I used to be one. Before I got to know you obviously. Before this wonderful date." She gave an encouraging smile and squeezed his hand. It only caused the tornado of confusion and emotion swirling inside of him to spin faster.

 

His face contorted into a grimace. "Yes, well apparently not wonderful enough to warrant anything further."

 

"Ugh. For someone so clever you can be such a dolt. I do want to see you again. I just… need time to think. I've never done this before. M...maybe after Christmas holiday we can discuss it further."

 

A flicker of hope began to gradually calm him. All was not lost. There was still a chance. "Alright. Yes thinking is good. Perhaps we should call it a night. Give each of us time to think."

 

"B... before you go. Did you have fun as well? Prior to this part of the evening of course." Her eyes were full of hope as she grasped his hand tighter.

 

It was his turn to give an encouraging squeeze. "Yeah Mer. I did. You could say I… **had a ball** " he joked with a shadow of a smile.

 

This earned him the eyeroll he'd been looking for as the teens broke apart and headed out the door. "Really? You're choosing to end the night on a pun?"

 

"I am. Good night Merula" he said as they reached the staircase where they would be forced to go their separate ways. They each hesitated. She seemed to be looking all around, while he quickly debated whether or not a hug was appropriate. Deciding against it, he let out a sigh and moved towards the stairs going up.

 

Suddenly something slammed into his back and a pair of arms wrapped around him. There was a barely audible whisper, "Good night Andrew" and she quickly withdrew. By the time he'd turned around Merula was already running down the staircase, jumping down several steps at a time. He hurried in the opposite direction, certain that his heart was beating loud enough to wake the entire castle.


	9. Proverbs 4:1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew gets some fatherly advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a bible verse. "Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction; pay attention and gain understanding."
> 
> This chapter was originally supposed to mostly take place after the Christmas break. Then I thought I'd add a quick conversation and it went in an unexpected direction. The same thing happened with the conversation after the Torvus fight. What I'm saying is that I shouldn't be allowed to write unsupervised. Anyway, hope you enjoy this surprise mini chapter.

For the first time in his life, Christmas holiday felt too long. Andrew had always loved Christmas. The gifts, both giving and receiving. The traditions, although many had gone unobserved in the years since Jacob's disappearance. The sweets. The decorations.The songs. Snow. All of it.

 

But this Christmas his mind was too occupied with what had happened the night of the Celestial Ball. She had looked incredible. He was still a bit surprised she'd fixed her hair for it. He preferred when it was messy, but had enough sense to keep that to himself. They'd danced despite the fact that one of them was clearly better at it. His favorite part though was their conversation after. Unbottling some of his repressed emotions. He found out so much about her. Unfortunately the thoughts that crowded his mind the most were about the uncomfortable part. How could he just ask her about spending time together so suddenly? They'd only been alone together twice! What was wrong with him? Idiot. Sometimes he would worry about what she would decide, and sometimes he would be hopeful she was considering it at all. Sometimes he was just mad that something as simple as blood would be coming between them. He didn't care that her parents were murderers. So why did it matter that his dad didn't know magic? Stupid wizarding racism.

 

All these roiling emotions were confusing, so he did what he always did when he was upset. He worked on something else. There were stacks of parchment all over his room. Notes and ideas for items he wanted to create. His mother would joke that it looked like a bomb went off in a bookstore. He spent most of the holiday with his nose in a book, _A Contemporary Look at the Practice of Charming Objects: Revised Edition._ Contemporary was a bit of a stretch considering it was published just after the first World War, but that did not stop it from being informative. He was eager to try some of the things he’d learned once he returned to school. Being in law enforcement and living in a muggle neighborhood made his mother very strict when it came to underage wand usage.

* * *

 

Before he knew it, the time had come to catch the train back to Hogwarts. His father pulled into the drive of the modest 3 bedroom house as he and his mother were finishing breakfast. She was getting her paperwork together for the day as he cleared the table. His mother was tall and thin, just as he was, though her lack of a right hand and forearm was readily apparent. She made no attempts to hide the injury. Brown hair fell in loose curls past her shoulders, shoots of grey starting to appear due to the stress of recent years. She left to grab the powder blue robes she liked to wear to work.

 

There was a knock at the door. "I've got it," Andrew exclaims while quickly striding across the front hall. As he threw the door open he managed a small smile. "Hey Dad." Behind the door was a tall man with a gut that had been slowly growing since things had fallen apart. His hair was cropped short and he was starting to bald slightly. He wore dark slacks with a white shirt and blue tie emblazoned with a small eagle. The same one he'd gotten after Andrew was sorted. He might not like the dangers of magic, but even that wouldn't stop him supporting his son.

 

"Andrew! I know it hasn't been long but give your old man a hug anyway?" the man asked in his booming deep voice. He stepped forward with arms outstretched, and the two of them embraced each other in a tight squeeze. As they separated his mother approached, ready for work. "Trudy" his father greeted in a neutral tone.

 

She instead turned to her son. "Good luck. Try to spend more time in the library and less time getting yourself in trouble. No matter what, remember that we're proud of you." She gave him a hug too before turning to her ex-husband. "Roger. Drive safe then, yeah?" With that she went back into the house, heading for the fireplace that would take her to work.

 

"Yeah, yeah. Course I'll drive safe. He's my son too" the man began to grumble as the pair made their way to the blue Alfa Romeo Giulia that was older than Andrew. It was a gloomy day out. Dark clouds filled the sky and rain was gently falling. As the car growled to life Roger changed the subject. "Did ya see the match yesterday? Ah it was brilliant."

* * *

 

10 minutes later Andrew had allowed his mind to wander. He stared out the window, thinking over all his interactions with Merula. Could he have been better? Would it have made any difference? His father noticed when he didn't respond to a question about different defensive formations. "You okay son? Usually you love to have a football chat" he asked with a hint of concern.

 

The boy considered asking for advice. His dad must have some wisdom. After all the man had been married, even if it eventually fell through. Maybe it would help. He just needed to word things right and be sure not to mention the anti muggle factor. "Err… dad" he began uncomfortably. "How do you tell whether or not a girl fancies you?" He continued to face the dreary window, afraid eye contact would make things more awkward.

 

Roger seemed to be very amused by the question. "Right. I suppose you're getting to that age. Looks like you are going from a boy to a man" he laughed as he ruffled his son's hair. Andrew was regretting his decision already. "Let's see… does she seem to enjoy spending time with you?"

 

"Yes...well usually" Andrew answered shyly. "It can be hard to tell. She tends to be serious around other people. I don't think I heard her truly laugh until it was just the two of us. We have actually only spent a bit of time on our own. Usually we just see each other in classes. We… we went to the ball together. She told me that she really enjoyed it." He started to blush saying all this out loud. He remembered the way she said it was the best night of her life. The way she had hugged him before they parted. Could his dad hear how loud his heart was beating?

 

Roger continued to beam at his son. "Well, sounds like you're off to a good start. Knowing you I'm sure you focus on making her laugh, yeah?" Andrew nodded, finally turning from the passenger window to face forward. "Good. Always good to make a girl laugh. Have you asked her to spend more time with you? Could be something simple such as studying together."

 

Andrew awkwardly scratched the back of his head, not sure if he should continue. Might as well. In for a penny, in for a pound. "I... I did. After the ball. She uh, she said she needed time to think about it over the holiday." His face fell, eyes trained intently on his shoes.

 

"I see. Well no need to panic just yet. You know she is probably just as nervous as you are. That or she could simply be playing hard to get."

 

He managed a half smile at this."Oh trust me, she doesn't need to play at it. Hard to get may as well be her middle name."

 

"Oh-ho. Going for a challenge, eh son?" he joked while nudging the boy with his elbow. Andrew just rolled his eyes. "Look my advice is gonna sound simple, but you'd be surprised how often kids your age muck it up. God knows I did. Just give her time and keep being yourself. If she likes that Andrew then she'll want to be around you and if she doesn't then it never would have worked anyway. You understand?"

 

Andrew finally turned to face his father while he nodded, his eyes meeting a pair of brilliant blue. "I'll try. Thanks Dad. This helped I think." He felt himself relax a bit. Just be himself. He could do that.

 

"Anytime son" Roger responded before his smile became mischievous. "So, want to tell me about this girlfriend of yours?" he asked while once again reaching to ruffle his son's hair.

 

This time the boy fended him off. "Knock it off would you. Besides, can't really tell you about my girlfriend if I don't have one yet" he joked with a crooked smile. "What were you saying earlier about defensive formations?"

 

"Right. So you know that new manager in Tottenham? No probably not, don't imagine you get much of our news at school. I'll try to sum it up fast." With that father and son spent the rest of the drive to King's Cross station talking pros and cons of various strategies.


	10. Communication Breakdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Christmas Merula seems to be avoiding Andrew. Why? And how long will she keep it up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is a Led Zeppelin song
> 
> This took forever and as always I'm sorry. My brain did not want to cooperate with me and I wasn't happy with the work I was producing. I'm mostly ok with how it turned out though. Hopefully I can carry some writing momentum forward and take less than a month on the next chapter. 
> 
> Also, I made a minor edit to the previous chapter. I changed the name of Andrew's mother.

Upon his return to school Andrew knew he should follow his father's advice. He'd asked, so eventually he'd get an answer. He just had to stay busy with friends and classwork until then. The problem he discovered after a few days was that he wasn't very patient. He'd scan every room as soon as he entered for a mess of brown hair with a shot of orange in it. Of course when he did see her he would immediately attempt to ensure that she didn't see him seeing her. That would defeat the purpose of being patient. Which he didn't like being in the first place. 

 

To make matters worse, she seemed to be going out of her way to avoid him. The first day of classes, she moved to a new seat in every class they shared. It was always further away, especially in potions where they'd shared a table for years. Outside of class, she always seemed to have people around her, which was  **very** strange. Since when did she like being around people? The few times he did catch her alone she quickly told him she needed to be elsewhere, which left him confused. Especially since there were times he thought she had her eyes on him, but it was only ever for a moment before she hastily looked away.

 

For a time he was able to convince himself things were fine. She was just messing with him. 'Playing hard to get' his father had called it. But by the time January came to a close he had lost all hope. This was it. She had decided, and that decision was a resounding no. The worst part was that she didn't even tell him to his face. Instead she just tried to disappear from his life entirely, like a ghost or something. Ugh. Of course he wasn't good enough. What had he been thinking?

* * *

 

A week later he was spaced out in potions. Well, to anyone else it would look like he was. No one could know that the ingredient jar he was focused on had a dull, hard to make out reflection of Merula's new table on it. He thought about how much clearer it would be if he had his falcon eyes. Suddenly an elbow from Rowan brought him back to the present. Snape seemed to be mid monologue.

 

".... inadequate. Because of this you will be reviewing one of the potions you have learned thus far in our time together. You and a partner will write an essay on the history of your assigned potion, and next class will be required to make it from memory," the dour man droned. A pairs assignment? Excellent. A small murmur went through the class as students decided who they wanted to work with. Andrew simply shared a glance with Rowan. Obviously they'd work well together. Snape glared around the classroom until silence returned. "I have of course randomly assigned each of you a partner and a potion," he continued while waving his wand in the direction of the blackboard. A list of names appeared as several students let out groans of disappointment. The professor almost seemed to smile at this reaction. Of course Snape wouldn't allow them to choose their partners. That might be pleasant. "You have your assignments. Class dismissed."

 

The class moved in unison toward the board, each in a hurry to learn who fate had paired with them. Andrew used his height to his advantage and scanned the list from the back of the crowd.  _ Khanna and Lee - skele-gro  _ was at the top. Looks like Rowan will be doing the entire thing himself. When Andrew's eyes finally found his surname his heart dropped. Of course she would be his partner. Snape must have done this just to torture him. He read it multiple times in the hopes it would change, but the words seemed resolute in reading  _ Ward and Snyde - calming draught.  _ His stomach turned in knots, unsure whether to be pleased to have a reason to be around her or devastated that she'd probably rather be paired with anybody else. Even Barnaby. He must have stared for a while, because suddenly the crowd had moved off and she approached him tentatively.

 

"Err… looks like we're going to be working together Ward," she said while she scratched the back of her neck. Three seconds in his presence and she was already clearly uncomfortable. That had to be some kind of record for repugnance.

 

He let out a small sigh before he responded, "Yeah, sorry about that. Meet in the library after dinner?" He tried to keep his eyes moving, afraid that if he didn't he would end up staring. Which would just make her more uncomfortable.

 

Merula's face grew slightly confused. "You're sorry? Why? And after dinner sounds fine."

 

"Sorry you're stuck with me. Anyway, see you then and we'll get it done quick," he gave a small wave before he walked away, shoulders slumped. 

 

As he approached the door he heard, "W…What? Ward? Wai…" before he turned the corner and her voice trailed off. The least he could do was give her a break from himself until later that evening.

* * *

  
  


When he entered the library that evening he didn't see her anywhere. He decided to be proactive and searched the shelves until he had a pair of books that would suit their needs. Andrew found a table in the back corner and threw his things on it with a sigh. Best to get to work. The sooner they finished, the sooner he would be able to go back to questioning all of his life decisions.

 

Some time later, his attention was called away by a cough beside him. Merula stood with her arms folded and a cross look on her face. Off to a good start. "Err… hey," he began as she took the seat opposite him. She seemed to glare with those violet eyes he had fallen for and it was unnerving him more than it ever had before. He tried to avoid eye contact. "So ok, I've already found some information on predecessors to the modern calming draught. If you look in that book you should find…"

 

"What's wrong with you?" she interrupted mid sentence. Apparently this was not going to be as quick and painless as he had hoped.

 

"Dunno. Lots of stuff I reckon. You like pointing out my flaws, you tell me," he mumbled while he finally worked up the courage to look at her. If this had to happen he might as well try to salvage some dignity.

 

Her brow furrowed as she replied, "What? Flaws? No, I'm talking about you not acting like...  **you** . You're being different and I don't like it." Andrew didn't understand what that was supposed to mean. How would she know how he was acting? She had been avoiding him for a month. And why would it matter if he had been acting strange? 

 

"Well how am I supposed to act exactly?"

 

"Oh, you know. You're supposed to be chatty and smile and tell awful jokes. Normal Ward stuff, not whatever this is," she answered while gesturing at him to indicate his current demeanor. "So why are you acting weird?"

 

What did it matter how he was behaving? Surely she should just want to finish this project and get away from him as soon as possible. Right? So why even ask? "Do you really want to know?" he asked.

 

"Obviously. Otherwise I wouldn't have brought it up. Spill it," she commanded. It appeared she was determined to get some answers.

 

Andrew took a calming breath. "Look, I understand if you don't want to be around me. I do. I just wish you would have told me that directly and maybe said why instead of simply ignoring me and pretending I don't exist," he explained while he maintained eye contact. Mentally he prepared for the worst.

 

"I...err…I wasn't ignoring you... I just…" she began to sputter. Her cheeks brightened as her hand once again found its way to the back of her neck. Why was she acting so nervous all of a sudden?

 

"Are you serious?" he interrupted, a bit louder than he had intended. How could she say she hasn't been ignoring him? It's not like she had even been subtle about it.

 

The outburst drew the attention of the school's librarian. "Shhhh!" the vulture like bookkeeper hushed as she passed their table.

 

"Look you moved away in Care of Magical Creatures, you moved away in Potions, you always suddenly have something to do every time I try to talk to you," he resumed in a loud whisper. He would list off everything she'd done to avoid him if he needed to. "It's obvious you hate me again and I just want to know why."

 

Now it was Merula who had difficulty maintaining eye contact. "I don't hate you," she spoke softly. "I just… you make things confusing," she suddenly accused with a slight pout.

 

"W...what?" he asked. When did he make things confusing? This was their first real conversation since December. "How?"

 

She buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Ugh. I didn't mean that," she said after she looked back at him. "Sometimes I want to say things but they end up coming out wrong. A lot of times actually. This is what I was trying to avoid, saying the wrong things. Not you." She seemed embarrassed and a little bit annoyed.

 

So all his worry had been for nothing. Or kind of nothing. She was nervous to talk to him, which was bad because it lead to her disappearance. But, it was also good because that meant he wasn't the problem. But was she nervous because she had an answer, or because she hadn't decided yet? "Umm...if at first you don't succeed, try, try again?" he offered with a shrug.

 

Merula shifted in her seat uncomfortably, back straight. She bit her lower lip in thought. "Ok. How do I say this?" she asked herself quietly.

 

Andrew tried and failed to keep his mouth shut. "Oh that's easy. You just say TTTHHIIIISSSS," he emphasized with a subdued smile. Her eyes rolled at the joke, but more importantly she seemed to relax slightly at the sudden levity. Her posture got a bit less stiff and her contemplative frown eased up a bit.

 

"Anyway," she continued through his interruption. "What I want to say is that I think we should be…" she paused to think about wording and it was the longest two seconds of Andrew's young life. "Not enemies."

 

"Not enemies?" he repeated slowly while his mind raced to work out what that might entail. It wasn't what he had pictured when he'd asked to spend more time with her after the ball. But it also wasn't the definitive 'NO' he'd been convinced it would be since she'd started avoiding him. It was a bit more complicated, as things with Merula tended to be.

 

"That's right, not enemies. Or mostly not enemies. Turns out you're not the worst person to be around, even if your jokes are mostly rubbish. The only problem is I'm not sure how. To be not enemies that is." As she spoke she seemed to grow more certain about what she was saying. That had to be a good sign.

 

Right, how does one go about being 'not enemies' with someone? He knew how to have friends, but it was clear she had specifically avoided using that word for a reason. She wasn't ready for that. 'Not enemies' was the best offer he would get. So best to stick with something practical. That way if anyone asked she could use it as an excuse. It stung a bit that she still couldn't admit that she liked being around him, but it was better than nothing. His eyes roamed the room and the answer became obvious.

 

He pointed at the table and then the library in general. "Like this. Talking in the vicinity of books and quills and parchment. Maybe even about our classes. Or about the vaults. Or just whatever," he said as nonchalantly as he could. 

 

"So we're 'not enemies' who study together then?" she asked.

 

"Why not? We're both near the top of our year for most classes. Makes sense that studying together would be beneficial," he pressed. "You know I was once called 'not completely worthless' by the greatest witch at Hogwarts."

 

A smile threatened to break out as Merula's lip twitched upward. "Are you ever going to let that go?"

 

What had begun as one of the most uncomfortable conversations ever had now shifted to a pleasant banter. "I'm afraid I can't. It's going on my tombstone, remember?"

 

"Well until that wonderful day," she said, words dripping with sarcasm. "Do you reckon there's anything else to being 'not enemies'?"

 

"Yeah. If you ever find yourself thinking about attacking me, maybe don't do that," he added with a crooked smile.

 

"So like right now, I should  **not** hex you under the table," she purred with feigned innocence.

 

"See look, you're a natural at this 'not enemies' thing," he concluded with an encouraging smile.

 

Any tension and apprehension between them seemed to have completely given way now. For the first time since she'd arrived Merula looked at the book Andrew had placed on her side of the table. She pulled it closer and opened it to the table of contents. "Yes well, first order of business now that we're officially 'not enemies': potions. This has the instructions on brewing it, right?"

 

Oh right, the entire reason they were here in the first place. He'd forgotten. "Uh, yeah. I've actually finished most of the history portion. So basically all that's left is for us to get comfortable enough with the recipe to brew it without notes." As he explained she flipped through the tome to find the correct page.

 

"Got it! Okay come to this side, this shouldn't be too hard. You're working with me after all," she waved him over while her eyes scanned the recipe. He moved his ink and parchment across the table and took the seat beside his new 'not enemy'. They spent the next two hours going over an assignment that should have only taken one. They seemed to get distracted in conversation, including a 10 minute debate about who had the better mnemonic device to remember the ingredients. Eventually Pince had grown tired of shushing them and had kicked them out, effectively ending the successful study session.

* * *

  
  


Two days later both students stood beside a gently bubbling cauldron while they awaited their potion master's verdict. He peered into the cauldron and made a mark on the clipboard he held. Finally he turned his attention to the pair. "This is an adequately brewed potion. Congratulations, it appears the two of you have not been a complete waste of my time," Snape said in his typical bored tone of voice. The man then moved on to the other groups as both teens breathed a sigh of relief.

 

"Adequate," Merula mumbled to him quietly. "I thought we did quite well."

 

They began to clean their workstation and organize their unused portions of ingredients. "We did. You just have to translate it from Snape speak. I mean he always finds a mistake in everyone's potions, except for us today," he said while he piled the excess crocodile heart. "In fact, he went so far as to call us 'not a waste of time'. You know what I think? I think that might be the best calming draught he's ever seen from students."

 

She rolled her eyes while wiping the scales off. "You're absurd Ward. You'll make a compliment out of anything."

 

"I'm taking that as a compliment," he fired back to a small chuckle. "Honestly I'm actually quite relieved. I was nervous for a minute there in the middle."

 

"Do you need a calming draught? I know where you can find an adequate one," she teased her 'not enemy'.


	11. crushcrushcrush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rumor has made its way throughout the school that Andrew has a girlfriend. How will Merula react?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a Paramore song.
> 
> Two chapters in three days?! Somebody pinch me, this must be some sort of dream. Hope you enjoy.

Andrew rubbed his eyes as he entered the Great Hall and sat at the very end of the Ravenclaw table. There was only a week left until he'd board the Hogwarts Express, but he couldn't afford to relax like most of his classmates. Not when he was so close to the forest vault. So close to the potential for a new lead on Jacob. So close to the end of another curse that plagued the school. Before he could get back to it though, his body would need fuel. Lots of it. He immediately began to load a plate with eggs, bacon, and sausage.

 

Halfway through his meal he was joined by Tulip, whose grin could charitably be described as sheepish. She certainly attempted to appear more ashamed of something than she probably actually was. Andrew just hoped he wasn't about to learn it was something that would involve him. At least until he finished his eggs. Please, they're delicious.

 

"Andrew Ward. How are you this morning?" she began once she'd sat down across from him.

 

"'ungry," he answered around a mouthful of eggs that he quickly swallowed. "What's the mischief of the day, or would I rather not know?"

 

She sat up a bit straighter and adjusted her tie. "Well, you'd most certainly rather not know. Unfortunately, that isn't really an option. Because you're sort of the accidental victim of a **tiny** bit of mischief."

 

"Ugh. Alright. How bad is it Tulip?" he asked while he dropped the piece of bacon he'd grabbed. Best not to have a mouthful when one learns the newest way their mischievous friend has accidentally affected their already hectic life. Just in case.

 

"Weeelllll, have you noticed an increase in the amount of people staring at you?" she asked casually. 

 

For the first time that morning he looked around the room, and it was readily apparent from the number of heads that quickly turned that he did seem to be getting attention. This wasn't unprecedented of course. Ever since he broke the first curse the school would occasionally take an interest in him. But that was usually after he'd done something. Broke a curse or saved someone or whatever. He hadn't done anything major recently. That would probably happen either tonight or tomorrow. " _Sigh_ I'm guessing you're about to tell me why and that I'm not going to like."

 

"Okay so what happened was, yesterday Tonks and I were chatting with a couple of other girls after classes when… oh no," Tulip began to explain before she stopped at the sight of the quick approach of Penny Haywood. She seemed almost giddy with excitement as she neared the two Ravenclaws. Andrew mentally counted the red flags that had taken over his breakfast. Tulip did something that he was the 'victim' of. Penny, the queen of Hogwarts' gossip, seemed excited to see them. So whatever it was must have caused some juicy rumors. Was it too much to ask for him to have a normal school experience? 

 

Penny skidded to a halt when she got to them and immediately launched into a barrage of words while she sat next to Tulip. "Oh my! So it's true then? Wow! I did not see this coming **at all.** You've caught everyone by surprise. But I'm so glad. You have to tell me what happened. Did you really ask him? And did you really almost choke on your water when she did?"

 

Andrew pinched the bridge of his nose and slowly turned from the expectant Hufflepuff back to his housemate, who at this point looked legitimately embarrassed. She seemed to have sunken into her seat. "Care to explain what she's talking about Tulip?" he asked as slowly and calmly as he could.

 

"Err…right. So the thing is Tonks and I **may** have taken a joke too far. As a result most of the school likely believes you and I are now a couple," she explained to her friends. "In my defense though, it was really funny at the time."

 

"So it's not true then?" Penny asked while Andrew placed his forehead on the table in exasperation. Couldn't he just fight a chimera or a giant or something like that? It would be so much simpler than the situation he now found himself in.

 

"It is not," Tulip confirmed.

 

"Tulip what? How? Why?" Andrew asked, voice muffled by the fact he spoke these questions at the table he was pressed against. Perhaps Merula was right all along and he truly was cursed. Wait, what if she heard the rumor? Oh no. He quickly sat up and began to search the Slytherin table. No sign of her.

 

"Well I just made a sarcastic comment that I'd asked you out. I didn't expect them to actually believe me, not when you're so clearly in love with Me…" she began to explain before being cut off.

 

"Can we not have **that** conversation right now?!" Andrew loudly interjected. Since April she had not so subtly pushed him to ask Merula on a date. No matter how much he denied it, she had a list of evidence to support her 'theory' that Andrew and Merula fancied each other. Obviously he lied when he denied it, because Merula was all he thought about sometimes. But he could never tell if Merula felt the same. He was afraid if he told her he'd muck up the 'not enemy' status he currently enjoyed. He already had enough problems. He did not need to open that can of worms right now, especially with Penny there. The blonde looked quite intrigued by the half statement, and he was certain she'd get Tulip to tell her everything about the 'theory' at some point.

 

"Fine," she relented with a slight shake of her head. "Anyway when it seemed like they bought it Tonks jumped in and said she was there at the time. Then the two of us ran with the bit until we got on our own and laughed about the absurdity of it all. I didn't think anything else of it until Baadea asked me in our dorm that night. I'm surprised no one mentioned it to you."

 

Andrew sighed again and vaguely wondered if it was possible to die of embarrassment. "That would be because I was out vault hunting last night. By the time I got back everyone was asleep. Besides, have you met the people in my dorm? Rowan and Talbott don't exactly have their finger on the pulse of the school's rumors and McNully is too obsessed with quidditch. Andre is the only one who **might** have heard something and been able to give me some advance notice of my impending embarrassment."

 

"Don't worry Andrew," Penny chimed in. "The two of us will work with the rest of the gang to help clear up this whole... misunderstanding."

 

"Exactly. Don't even worry about it. We'll have this all sorted by noon. Relax. Really the only way this could cause serious problems for you is if…that happens…" she trailed off, her attention pulled to the Great Hall's entrance. 

 

When he turned to follow her gaze he was certain his heart stopped. Merula Snyde had just stepped through the doorway. Any hope he held onto that she hadn't heard the rumor was immediately dashed by the look in her eyes. A look of violet fury. It didn't help matters that Tulip was currently seated across from him. He was certain it served as confirmation, because when she saw them she immediately turned on her heel and marched away.

 

"Jesus! Ok, you two fix this, I have to go!" he barked to his friends as he rushed to his feet and threw his bag over his shoulder. He ran after her and barely saw her leave the castle and head out onto the surrounding lawn. Damn she moved quick. As he followed her he saw her wipe her sleeve across her face.

 

"Mer! Wait!" he called when he started to draw close. "I can explain!"

 

"Go away Ward! Enjoy your breakfast with your girlfriend!" she shouted back over her shoulder.

 

"How are you so fast when you're so short?" he complained as he got within ten feet.

 

"I'm serious Ward! If you keep following me I'm going to hex you!" Five feet away.

 

"Fine! Let me explain and you can hex me!" Three feet.

 

She stopped and turned, wand drawn and pointed at his chest. "I'M NOT JOKING!" she screamed.

 

"NEITHER AM I!" he yelled as he closed the distance and pressed up against the tip of her wand.

 

The angry eyes glared at him. They looked him up and down. "Is this some sort of trick?" she asked at a slightly lower volume.

 

"How would it be a trick? I'm unarmed and I'll keep my hands up. Just give two minutes, then hit me with whatever," he spoke at a normal volume again. He raised his hands in surrender and hoped by some miracle this would work.

 

She considered for a moment. "You've got one while I decide what I'm going to use," she threatened while she jabbed him with her wand slightly.

 

Andrew pushed back the hair that had fallen in his face, as the waves of dark brown he'd grown out for months now reached the middle of his neck. "Okay look whatever you've heard from whoever, it's not true. Tulip made a joke to someone who is apparently too dense to get sarcasm. The whole thing is just a stupid joke that got out of hand and started rumors. That's all," he relayed the information as quickly as possible and then stared into her eyes. Please believe he thought as loudly as he could.

 

She scoffed. "Hmph, so you're telling me that you and Karasu are **not** together?" she asked. Her wand pulled back slightly but remained leveled at his chest.

 

"Of course not. I don't even fancy her, I fancy y... someone else," he managed to correct mid word. Not that it was likely to do much good.

 

"Well I feel sorry for whoever it is. Actually no, she's probably terrible. You two deserve each other," Merula spat.

 

She had no idea she had just insulted herself. He would have laughed about that if he weren't so panicked at the time. What should he do? If he told her now he figured there was a fifty-fifty chance he'd either get hugged or hexed. Or both. Neither? Actually he had no idea what to expect. "She's not terrible. You'd really like her."

 

"Tcht. Yeah right. I bet she's dense and boring, but you don't care about that because at least she's pretty," Merula continued in a mocking tone. Her free hand had moved to her hip and her face had shifted into something that could only be described as an angry pout.

 

"Well she is pretty, but I wouldn't go around insulting her like that in your shoes," Andrew retorted. He swallowed hard and his throat felt tight.

 

"Why not? I'm not afraid of whoever she is."

 

He made up his mind, it was now or never. The moment of truth. "You...uh…should be. She's the greatest witch at Hogwarts," he managed to say with a small smile at the absurdity of the entire situation.

 

"I'm the greatest witch at Hogwarts!" she shouted back. When he only nodded in response she knit her brow in confusion. "I'm the greatest witch at Hogwarts?"

 

"You've been saying so for years and I've never disagreed have I?" Now that he'd let the cat out of the bag his smile grew another fraction.

 

"But you just said that the girl you fancy is the greatest witch at Hogwarts," she said as she took a step back.

 

"Yes, that is correct."

 

"Well but then that means…OH," she gasped and then threw her free hand over her mouth. Merula's wand arm dropped to her side. When she didn't say anything for a few seconds he decided to elaborate.

 

He adjusted his tie in an attempt to settle the nerves that anxiously awaited her response. "Right. Err. See, I've actually fancied you for a while now. But I was never sure about what you thought. Sometimes it seemed like you did and others it seemed like you **really** didn't. So I just kept it to myself so I didn't muck things up for you," he softly spoke while tentatively taking a step closer to her. He took it as a good sign she didn't immediately step away.

 

Instead she took a step closer to him and her free hand dropped to her side as well. Her jaw hung open in shock. "How...uh...how long have you…" she finally said, although she trailed off as the pair found themselves less than a foot apart.

 

"Err...hard to say. At the very latest it would be the Celestial Ball, but honestly probably before then even," Andrew answered. As he looked down at her he saw her hand twitch ever so slightly towards him. He'd come this far, so he decided to go for broke and grabbed it with his own. She let out another surprised gasp, but she didn't pull her hand away. Her hand felt soft in his. Gentle.

 

She looked down at their joined hands for a moment before she looked back up into his eyes. "That was a pretty magical night," she said as the stunned look she'd worn since his confession turned to one of joy.

 

"Well, it certainly went better than our first date," he joked as a grin took over his face. This was going smoothly. Well mostly smoothly. She hadn't run off or hexed him and they held each other by the hand. That was far better than some of the ways he'd pictured this conversation.

 

"What are you talking about Ward? The ball **was** our first date."

 

Andrew put on an exaggerated pout. "Are telling me you don't remember our night in the forest together? I'm hurt Mer. I thought we had a moment," he said as he failed to keep a straight face half way through.

 

She pulled both her hands up and suddenly pushed him in the chest. "That was **not** a date," she said with a laugh as he rocked back a bit in surprise. Thankfully though, she did not release his hand. She did finally stow her wand that had been pointed at him moments ago.

 

"Are you only saying that because I got a little shot?" he asked as if that were a perfectly normal thing that happened on dates.

 

"Yes," she replied as she poked his once injured shoulder. "Getting shot automatically makes something not a date."

 

"I see," he said as he used his free hand to stroke his chin. "Okay, hypothetically if we go on another date and I get stabbed would that also be disqualified?"

 

She brought a finger from her free hand to her chin and tapped it in thought. "Hmmm. I'm not sure. I guess you'll just have to take me on another date and we'll find out," she said coyly while her cheeks turned a brilliant shade of pink.

 

"Wh… yeah. Of course yeah. Umm. Where would you like to go?" he asked in a fluster as his face grew hot. He hadn't thought this far ahead. He would overthink everything in life, but somehow had failed to have a plan in the event she said yes. Where do people go on dates? Hogsmeade? But it was too late for that. They would leave school soon. Why hadn't he done this sooner damn it? He should have listened to Tulip, who he was pretty sure he owed a thank you now.

 

Merula seemed to have similar trouble. "Err...right. Well it's too late for Hogsmeade. Maybe it's best to wait until the fall…"

 

"No!" he exclaimed quickly. They couldn't put it off. What if she changed her mind? Think Andrew. "Umm. I'll be going to the forest vault soon if you want to come?"

 

Merula just rolled her eyes. "Ward only **you** would think vault hunting counts as a date," she teased.

 

"Ok is there a list somewhere that will tell me what is and is not a date?" he asked, a bit annoyed. He'd come this far, but now he had stumbled on the most important part.

 

"Let's slow down a minute," Merula said, much to his dismay. To slow down was the exact opposite of what he wanted. "It's almost summer. We can spend the whole time writing each other to figure out how **this** is going to work." She raised their joined hands and placed them on his chest at the word this. She leaned a bit closer to him as well.

 

Of course there would be a catch. Nothing was ever simple. "Alright. So what do we do for the next week?" Andrew asked quietly. He found that he'd leaned closer as well, the teens now only separated by several inches. Was this happening? Now?! He tried to think of everything he knew about kissing, which was basically nothing.

 

"Well, we just keep acting like we have. Then we figure it out over summer," Merula's voice had grown softer as she continued to move closer. She stood on her toes to make up for their height difference. Her face was the only thing in the world at that moment. This was it. What he had wanted for months.

 

"MORNIN,'" came a booming voice from behind them. The startled teens jumped apart and turned to see the unmistakable form of Hagrid approach from his hut. The enormous man made quick work of the distance between them. "Lovely day out isn' it?"

 

Andrew and Merula looked everywhere but at each other, both embarrassed and afraid of how much Hagrid noticed. She ran her hand along the back of her neck and he adjusted his tie unnecessarily. Finally finding his voice with a cough, it was Andrew who answered, " _cough_ Umm. Yeah. That's what we're doing. Enjoying the sunshine."

 

"Well o' course yeh're. Jus' make sure yeh're not late fer yer classes," the cheerful giant of a man said with a wave as he passed them. "Well I'm off ter breakfas', see yeh later." Several seconds passed and the two students were once again alone. Neither seemed to know what to say now that their moment was ruined.

 

It was Merula who spoke first this time. "Err. Okay. So we need to think to figure out what to do about...us." She grabbed his hand again and gave it a squeeze. "We will work it out, won't we?" Merula's voice wavered at the question,

 

"Of course we will. I recall a brilliant witch often complaining that everything seems to work out for me," he replied as casually as he could manage. He turned towards her and they once more looked into each other's eyes.

 

Merula gave him a smile, the smile he'd come to appreciate more than any other. He'd realized months ago he would do just about anything for a chance to make it appear. "Good. It better work out," she said with another squeeze before she suddenly broke off and took a step back. She tried to smooth her robes and seemed to readjust her attitude to a more serious one. The Merula everyone else knew. Not the one that only seemed to come out when they were alone. "Right. I'm going to go inside. Can you… can you wait here a few minutes so we don't enter at the same time?"

 

"Of course," he answered with a small sigh. She still didn't want people to see them together, which meant she still cared what the other Slytherins thought of her. Stupid pure-blood racism she learned from her awful parents. It would most definitely be a problem they'd need to solve over the summer.

 

"Good. Thank you. Umm. I'll see you around," she said with a wave before she began to walk away. For a moment she continued to look at him over her shoulder, before she finally broke eye contact. As she walked she began to shake her head.

 

Right, well that went well. Much better than he'd expected. It would have been perfect, had Hagrid not appeared when he did. Still it was great. And there would be more opportunities for their first kiss. After all, she obviously wanted them to be together even if she never explicitly said it. He knew first-hand how determined she was when it came to her goals. She never let anything stop her or get in her way. This was an amazing day. The best day ever, as far as he was concerned at the moment. A small part of his brain tried to remind him he would have to face acromantulas tonight. But that part was ignored while the rest of his mind focused on scenarios that could possibly happen over the summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession: I love fake dating fics. I couldn't think of a reasonable way to make this into one, so instead I came up with this idea. It's kinda ridiculous, but I love it anyway.


	12. Mother may I?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew is having a pleasant conversation with his parents on the way home from the train station. That is until his father asks what happened with the girl he fancied. Who doesn't love discussing their love life with their parents?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is the name of a kid's game.
> 
> I don't know what to say since this is where I usually apologize for how long the chapter took to be posted. So I'll just say thank you and I love you to everyone who is still reading this thing. That goes double for anyone who leaves feedback.
> 
> Oh. And I added the awkwardness tag. Cause this fic needs it after the last couple of chapters.

The remainder of the term passed in a blur. First professor Flitwick pulled him aside after charms and informed him he had been chosen as a Ravenclaw prefect for next year. He found the forest vault that night, though he didn't find any clues to Jacob's whereabouts. Afterwards Dumbledore gave him detention for the entirety of the next year, which seemed like a poor way to thank someone who saved the school  **again.** Then madam Rakepick, the professional cursebreaker who had been brought in to deal with the vaults, had informed him that she would be his defense against the dark arts teacher next year. In addition, she would also take on three apprentices to assist her search for the vaults. The team would consist of Andrew, his surrogate older brother Bill Weasley, and his not-sure-what-to-call-her-now Merula Snyde. He was ecstatic about that last part. Since they would officially work together they wouldn't have to make up excuses to spend time around each other. If anyone asked what they were up to they could respond with a simple answer like 'vault stuff'. It was perfect.

 

The train ride was largely uneventful. He shared a compartment with Rowan, Talbott, and Tulip. The four Ravenclaws mostly discussed their summer plans and expectations for the next year. Rowan and his family would go to Nepal to see the gravity resistant trees that grew there. Tulip's parents would take her to America where they would attend a conference on magical law enforcement. They were all excited to see how madam Rakepick would fair as an educator. Their defense against the dark arts professors so far had been mediocre at best. 

 

The only problem he had was when Tulip steered the conversation toward the group of cursebreaker apprentices. Specifically Merula. Rowan still understandably didn't trust her after the devil's snare incident. Talbott still didn't trust her because of who her parents were. The incident where she accidentally learned that he was an unregistered animagus while she had attempted to spy on Andrew had not helped matters. Andrew had great difficulty in his attempts to argue that she deserved another chance, as he still felt it best to withhold information on the time he'd spent with her the previous year. Tulip seemed content to simply enjoy the uncomfortable situation she had knowingly put her friend in.

 

Once the Hogwarts Express reached the station and Andrew had said his various goodbyes, he made his way to the station entrance where he found both of his parents waiting for him. Once they had all gotten into the old Alfa Romeo, his parents asked about his term and he gave them an edited version. He told them about being named prefect and one of the three apprentices. They were pleased to learn he had been given a leadership role. Although neither had ever approved of his involvement with the vaults, they were relieved to hear that he would now be under the supervision of a professional. This sentiment was only reinforced when he told them of his year long detention. Other than that he told them about some of the other things he'd done, such as the new friends he'd acquired.

 

When he told them he was finished, his father said, "Oh come on, that can't be it. What about the girl?" Which caused Andrew to choke on the bottled water he had just taken a swig of. Oh no. This wasn't happening. Please tell him this wasn't happening.

 

"Girl? What girl?" Trudy asked while her son worked to get air back in his lungs.

 

Roger gave a mischievous smile. "Our son asked me how to tell if a girl fancies him when I dropped him off in January," he said with a laugh.

 

"Dad!" Andrew shouted in alarm. That was a private conversation. How could he just bring it up with mum in the car? He'd be sure to get advice elsewhere next time.

 

Trudy turned around to face him in the backseat and asked, "Why did you ask him and not me?" Aww geez, this would be a thing now. They'd both want him to come to them for advice first. He imagined a great deal more questions in his future.

 

"Apparently I shouldn't have asked him either," he muttered. "I don't know, I guess I just reckoned he had to know  **something** about girls since I exist and all."

 

"Aww, don't take it personally Trude. It's a father/son thing. If he had been born an Andrea then she'd have come to you first," Roger explained. Andrew briefly attempted to imagine how he'd look as a girl before he shook the thoughts out of his head. Focus Andrew, you're in for an awkward conversation here.

 

"Hmm, fine," she relented as she turned to face forward once again. "Well go on. How did it go? Did you take your father's advice?"

 

Andrew squirmed in the backseat, quite uncomfortable with the newest topic of conversation. He moved his hair in front of his face so he could somewhat hide behind it. "Well...err yeah. It went bad, and then got better, then got really bad before getting a lot better all on the same morning," he answered.

 

His parents shared a brief look and both smiled. "Wow, that was so informative," his mother said sarcastically. Shit, of course they wouldn't be happy without more info.

 

"Yes, a bit light on the details there son."

 

"Aww c'mon, is it really necessary to say more?" Andrew complained from the rear. Has he not suffered enough for one day?

 

His mother took on a mock apologetic tone as she said, " _ Tcht _ Yeah, sorry. Turns out we're the awful sort of parents who care about our son's life and want to be involved in it." Damn it mum and dad, you can't just win arguments with humor. Andrew had dibs on that, it was his thing.

 

"Come on lad, we're only trying to help. Look I know this is a confusing time in your life. It was in mine, and I didn't even have magic or curses or anything like that to worry about like you do," Roger pressed. "You don't have to say everything, but it'd be nice to get a bit more than bad, good, really bad, really good."

 

Andrew decided it would be easiest just to get it over with, though he also attempted to curl up and hide as much as his frame would allow.. " _ Hmph _ Okay fine. When I first got back she didn't talk to me for a while. But then when we did eventually talk I found out it was because she was nervous about saying the wrong thing. After that we started studying together sometimes. Then a few days before the end of term a rumor went around that I was dating someone else. She was  **REALLY** not happy about that, but I was able to explain that it wasn't true. In doing so I accidentally let slip that I fancied her and she seemed to respond really positively. We got interrupted before we had a chance to really talk about what comes next for us though, so now we're going to try to figure it out via post over the summer," he rattled off everything quickly in the hopes he'd get to the end of the conversation faster. "There, happy?" He crossed his arms.

 

His mother was the first to respond with, "Well on a positive note, you learned that she shares your feelings. Otherwise she wouldn't have been nervous about saying the wrong things around you and wouldn't have been jealous about the rumor." Right, that means she probably has been interested in him as long as he's been interested in her.

 

"I don't know about relying on the post though," Roger chimed in. "There are just some things that ought to be done in person, and discussing matters of the heart is one of them."

 

He could bring up his idea. There's no way he'd get away with it for long if he tried without mum's permission. Her job was literally to notice things and catch people. Maybe with both of them here he'd have a better chance to convince her. Worth a shot at least. "Err… Yeah about that. I thought it might be possible for me to visit her a few times. With permission of course."

 

"Do you even know where she lives?" Trudy asked skeptically.

 

"Err...no, not exactly." Andrew pictured a generic dark and spooky manor since he knew nothing about what it looked like.

 

Roger nodded in understanding, "Ah but he can ask for the address via the owl system you lot are so fond of." The concept of using owls was not entirely foreign to his father at this point, but the man still thought it was strange.

 

"Yes I could do that. There's another way I've thought of. I could always follow Owlexander when I send a letter," he said timidly. He had no idea how he would be able to convince them.

 

"Son, you can't exactly follow a bird from the…" his father began.

 

"No!" his mother said forcefully. Shit, nothing is ever easy.

 

"What? What am I missing here? Oh yeah, you can turn into a bird after last year, right?" Roger asked. He snapped his fingers as he figured it out. The man had almost fallen out of his chair the first time Andrew had shown him.

 

"Just because he's capable of it does not mean he can. You know you can't use magic outside of school," Trudy reminded him.

 

"Okay yes but I actually did some research on the statutes on underage sorcery and I'm positive that with the way they're worded, animagus abilities are at worst in a grey area. They're not really a spell per se, more of a magical ability that I've ingrained into my biology. Sorta similar to a metamorphmagus, although their ability is there naturally from birth. I know their abilities aren't affected by the Trace since my friend is one, and I'm almost certain that changing to an animagus form would be treated similarly," Andrew argued. That's right, appeal to their logic.

 

Trudy turned to her ex-husband, who shook his head in confusion. "Don't look at me, I couldn't follow half of what the boy just said. You know magic and your laws better than I do," he said, unwilling to speak on matters in which he knew he was ignorant.

 

His mother sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with her good arm before she admitted, "It is true that the Trace does not notice inherent magical transformations like an animagus or metamorphmagus. It is also correct that the laws on underage sorcery do not explicitly mention anything about animagi.  **However** , clearly the intent of the law is to keep young wizards like you from doing magical things due to the possibility that they might be spotted by a muggle. And by your own description the ability is magical in nature," she retorted. Andrew was just glad she'd conceded some of his points. Maybe he had a chance here.

 

"Ah but how often do courts prosecute based on the intent of laws? There's a reason laws are long and detailed, because it's easier to enforce them when they're explicit and clear," Roger chimed in, probably just glad to be able to contribute to the conversation in some way.

 

"Roger, taking his side is not helping," Trudy chided.

 

"I'm not taking sides, just contributing my two cents is all," he replied.

 

Trudy huffed, " _ hmph _ Well either way, a 15 year old is not responsible enough to just go out on their own for who knows how long to who knows where."

 

"That's a good point," Roger said.

 

"A 15 year old who has been entrusted with the responsibility of both a prefect and a cursebreaker’s apprentice," the boy fired back.

 

Trudy's voice became sarcastic once more. "Ah yes, and probably the first prefect in school history to serve a year long detention."

 

"Which I got for the terrible crime of saving the school and doing the facilities' job for them,  **again** ," Andrew replied as he straightened up again in his frustration. Why was every adult and authority figure always upset with him for his help. A 'thank you' would be nice.

 

There was silence for a minute before Roger shook his head and said, "Wow, you must  **really** like this girl."

 

"W… What? Err… Yeah. Why do you say that?" Andrew sputtered in confusion.

 

Roger let out one of his deep laughs, then said, " _ hahaha _ Well it's just that I've never seen you push back against your mother this much. You've always been quick to fall in line and follow her instructions. Seeing you like this, well it must mean she's pretty special to you."  Andrew just shrunk back down into his seat. He felt as though his father had crawled inside his head just now. 

 

Everyone in the car remained silent for a while. Andrew assumed that was the end of it. Oh well, at least he tried. He pressed his forehead against the passenger window and started to draft the first letter he would write to Merula. That was until his mother let out an exasperated sigh from the seat in front of him. " _ Sigh  _ There would need to be conditions and rules," she said. What? Did she just say what he thought she did?

 

"Of course, like he shouldn't spend the entire summer there. Limit it to once a week or so," Roger suggested.

 

"Uh, yeah. Okay," Andrew agreed as he pulled himself off the glass.

 

"Yes. And I expect you to be home by the time I return from work. You're not going to be running around the entirety of the day," his mother added.

 

"Sure, sure. Home by 5. Done. What else?"

 

"Dunno if this counts as a condition, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of your mother popping in to check up if I were you," his father warned. Oh, Andrew hadn't considered that possibility. He was fairly certain Merula would  **not** like an auror to possibly just pop in. It's fine, he could figure something out if and when it happened.

 

"Absolutely. And finally I'm going to need her name," Trudy concluded.

 

She was not going to like the answer to that question. Andrew briefly considered giving a different name, but knew that would only lead to trouble. In addition to the fact that he wasn't a great liar, his mother was essentially a human lie detector. He and Jacob were almost never able to fool her. Which probably had a lot to do with his lack of deception skills. "Uh… Her name?" he asked.

 

"Yes, so I can use my resources to find where her family lives."

 

Andrew swallowed hard before he quietly said, "Errr...it's…it's Merula Snyde."

 

"What?!" his mother exclaimed in surprise.

 

"Hang on, isn't that the name of the girl you said was bullying people your first few years? The one who's parents are in wizard jail for murder?" Roger asked to make sure he followed.

 

"Among other crimes! No, absolutely not! That's not happening!" Trudy said, her voice raised.

 

"Ah come on mum, you'd already agreed before you knew who it was!" The voices in the car all seemed to escalate now.

 

"Yes! Because now I know the kind of person you're asking to see!"

 

"She's not like her parents! Not anymore! She's changed!"

 

"I don't care how much she's supposedly changed! I worked with Elias Whitmire, the auror her parents murdered when he got too close! He was a colleague and friend!"

 

"But that wasn't her! People need to stop blaming her for what her parents did!"

 

"Let's all calm down, we're not going to get anywhere…" his father began to say before he was quickly interrupted.

 

"I'M NOT LOSING ANOTHER SON ROGER!" Trudy screamed. Everyone in the car fell silent. They never talked about Jacob. None of them wanted to be reminded he was gone, so the topic was never brought up. His mother hung her head and rested it on the remains of her missing forearm. Andrew felt horrible. He knew she was worried about him constantly ever since Jacob. Of course she wouldn't want him to go off on his own to the home of a pair of Death Eaters. Andrew reached forward and put his hands on her shoulders in the hopes that it would be reassuring.

 

"Mum, I'm not going to be like Jacob, okay? I don't keep secrets the way he did. Someone always knows where I'm going and what I'm doing. So even if something does happen to me, I'll never just disappear. There will always be information and leads. A trail to follow. And I'm here right now. It's okay. I understand now. I don't need to go. I reckoned it was a long shot anyway," Andrew spoke softly. He didn't want his mother to be upset, no matter how much he wanted to see Merula. They could just work things out by letter like they'd planned.

 

"Yes, it's alright Trude. Andrew is right behind you, probably waiting to get home so he can go through all your food," Roger joined in with an attempt to lighten the mood.

 

Trudy breathed in deeply through her nose and then blew that air from her mouth. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and said, "You know you are the worst teenager ever right? I mean really, understanding other points of view? Shouldn't you be throwing a fit and then sulking for a few days because you didn't get your way?"

 

"Don't blame me, I learned it from my mother. I'm afraid the best I can do is a few disrespectful eye rolls.  **Maybe** some extravagant sighs and grunts when you ask me to do anything. Only if you're lucky though," her son joked back, which earned a few small chuckles from both parents.

 

" _ Sigh  _ And you're sure this is the girl you're drawn to?" Trudy asked.

 

"Merula? Yeah, of course I'm sure," he answered. Andrew wasn't sure where this was going. He thought the discussion was over. What else needed to be said?

 

"Tell me why. And know that if all you can come up with is 'she's pretty' I'm going to smack you," she ordered.

 

"Well she  **is** very pretty. Ah, but that's not all! There's more there's more!" Andrew exclaimed as he dodged the arm that was blindly swung in his direction. He'd never really explicitly thought about  **why** he was so fond of her. He just was. "Uh… I've never really put it into words before but here goes nothing. First of all she's brilliant. She and I are usually competing for who has top marks in our year for several subjects."

 

"Brains are always a big positive. You want someone who can keep up mentally," Roger encouraged.

 

This helped calm Andrew's nerves a bit as he continued, "Right. Oh and she's witty sometimes. And though she tries not to, she often laughs or smiles at my jokes, even some of the bad ones."

 

"Oh great, just what you needed, another reason to make jokes," his mother said sarcastically.

 

"Okay, what else? So, she's very confident and determined. Which at first was a real pain, but now that her priorities seem to be shifting I think it will be a good thing. She doesn't let anything stop her from achieving her goals. Remember how I mentioned that there would be three apprentices next year? Well she's one too, along with my good friend Bill. Anyway her determination and belief in herself are probably going to help drive all three of us to work harder and learn more."

 

"Hear that? Sounds like they'll be  **working together** a lot next year," Roger teased. Andrew squirmed a bit at his father’s implication.

 

"Alright I don't quite know how to explain this one. I know she's done some bad things. But she's stopped the worst of it now. And when it's just the two of us she's… I don't know… she's different. She's nicer and she's started to care about people. Like she decided she wants to be a healer. She's not ready to be like that around everyone yet, but I think she will be eventually. I think I might be helping with that. Or maybe I just want to help. Because I think she's a good person that got brought up wrong by bad people. She just needs someone to believe in her," Andrew explained passionately.

 

His parents didn't say anything to that. They just looked at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation. Trudy raised a hand palm up towards her ex, who gave a small shrug and then a nod. She shook her head in response and he simply looked back at her with an eyebrow raised. She appeared to be about to speak, but then instead turned toward her window and bit her knuckle.

 

"Listen," she began after a few seconds, eyes still fixed on the window. "I am not going to give you permission to do something quasi legal and potentially foolhardy." Andrew knew this. She had made her decision quite clear, and he had accepted that. Why was she reiterating it? "However," she continued, which caught him completely off guard. "I have decided that if you choose to spend the day shut up in your room with the window open, I won't question it. Just remember that all the conditions from earlier still apply."

 

"What?! Really?!" Andrew shouted in disbelief. There was no way. Mum never changed her mind.

 

"Really. But know that I can easily find out where she lives. And if I have excess tedious paperwork I'll be bringing it home and expect you to work on it with me."

 

"Yeah, of course. Whatever you want," he said as he reached his long arms into the front of the car to hug his mother. "Thank you thank you thank you."

 

"Just don't make me regret this decision," she warned as she patted her son's arm.

 

"I won't, I swear. You won't even notice a difference," Andrew promised.

 

After another minute of appreciation from Andrew and warnings from Trudy, the conversation about the boy's love life finally came to an end. The rest of the car ride was pleasant, with only light conversation between the three of them. Andrew spent the entire time nearly bouncing in his seat from excitement. Soon he would be home, and there he could begin to write his first letter to Merula.


	13. The owls are not what they seem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew and Merula exchange a series of letters until he is ready to visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a repeated line from the show Twin Peaks.
> 
> There has been a bit of discussion in the comments here and on the HPHM discord about the future of this fic. I was considering the idea of making 5th year a separate sequel to this fic. It seems most people would prefer I just keep adding to this one, so that's what I'll do then. There's going to be one more summer chapter and then we'll jump into 5th year with a fun chapter where I try doing some new stuff.

That night Andrew sat at his desk surrounded by crumpled pieces of parchment. How was this so difficult? It was just a letter. Plus he knew she felt something for him. This should be easy. He looked over his latest draft to make sure he hadn't said anything stupid. 

 

_Merula,_

 

_So are we doing this? You and I in a relationship with one another after all our fights? Are you up to the challenge? I know I am. I've wanted to for some time now. Longer than you have I'm sure._

 

_I guess I'll ask the biggest question I have. Are we going to tell people about this? You've said before that things are complicated because of my father. Should I assume that means you would prefer to keep it our secret? Are there any other rules you want to establish?_

 

_Yours,_

_Andrew Ward_

 

_P.S. I'm still mad at Hagrid for interrupting us._

 

He reckoned that was pretty good. Good enough that he wasn't about to start over again. In the morning he'd send it and follow his owl to find out where she lived. Hopefully it wasn't too far away. Oh no, what if it takes all day to get there and get back? No, it's fine. He couldn't let himself worry about things that were beyond his control. Best to just clean up the mess he'd made and then get some sleep. Only sleep was easier said than done. He could barely close his eyes due to his excited, nervous energy.

* * *

 

The next morning he woke before the sun came up. After he read the letter a few more times he attempted in vain to return to his slumber. When it became clear that would not happen, he decided to go to the kitchen and make breakfast. He needed **something** to do until his mother left for work, and as a teenage boy he was perpetually hungry. He was by no means a chef, but he managed to scramble half a dozen eggs, fry up a pound of bacon, and have a stack of toast on the table by the time Trudy entered the room.

 

"Smells good. Can I expect this for the entire summer or will you just butter me up at the start?" she said with a smile as she took a seat at their small table.

 

"Who said any of this was for you, maybe I'm just really hungry?" he countered as he carried over the plate of bacon and bowlful of eggs. He placed the eggs by his mother and took the seat opposite.

 

They each served themselves before they traded items. "Hmmm. Well maybe I'll just add it to the list of my conditions. Speaking of which, is today the big day?" she asked with a smile that wasn't entirely able to conceal the worry she attempted to hide. She still must not be fully comfortable with the idea, but at least she hadn't pulled the plug...yet.

 

"Not quite. Mum always says it's best to gather as much information as possible before going into something. So I'll just follow Owlexander there and back a couple of times at first. Get a feel for how far it is and memorize a number of landmarks along the way," he answered while he poured himself a glass of milk.

 

"Sounds like a smart woman. Probably why she already knows how far it is," came the smug reply.

 

This caused Andrew to spit out a bit of the bacon he chewed on. "Wh… What? You already know? But I only told you about her yesterday afternoon. It's no... it's not too far is it?" he sputtered out after he swallowed enough bacon to speak again. How does she always seem to know everything?

 

Trudy gave a short laugh. " _Haha_ Oh my sweet, naive son. I knew before I fixed dinner last night. It was the first thing I did once you'd gone to your room. As for the distance, surely you should know that if it were too far I'd have put a stop to this already," she explained to the boy with a pat on the arm to reassure him.

 

"Right, good...err pass the toast?" he asked to change the subject. The rest of their breakfast was mostly spent in silence. After it was over Andrew washed the few dishes while she got ready for work. They said their goodbyes in front of the fireplace before she left via the floo network and suddenly it was time for him to go as well.

 

He sped up to his room, quickly gave his letter one last look over, and then folded it before he added "Merula Snyde - Snyde Manor" to the front. He approached his owl's cage and produced a treat to get the creature to come out. Owlexander was a plump brown barn owl who refused to work without a treat for his trouble. He also had a bad habit of eating anything edible in the packages he was to deliver, which the family solved by simply not sending anything edible to anyone. Problem solved.

 

"Don't be alarmed, but I'll be following behind you in my falcon form today," he explained to the owl as he tied the message to its leg. The bird must have taken exception, because it nipped him on the back of the hand when he'd finished. "Oi! You should be happy about this. Everything goes well and it'll be less work for you this summer, which means more time lazing about." The owl found this agreeable enough to jump over to the windowsill and stretch his wings to prepare for the journey. Andrew looked over to check his clock. 8:10 read the digital display beside his bed. Andrew opened the window and then transformed, his falcon form easily able to keep up with the fat owl.

 

Andrew memorized landmarks that jumped out to his avian eyes the entire trip. A statue here, a large tree there, a building with a bright pink roof, etc. He wasn't overly familiar with geography, but based on the sun he knew he was headed in a fairly western direction. 

 

After some time the houses he passed over became larger and more spaced out. He noted the more memorable ones, but as Owlexander began to descend towards one in particular he instantly knew it was hers. For one thing the large black gate that barred entrance from the street had an intricate crest with a prominently featured 'S' below it. The crest featured a black eagle, head pointed upwards and wings elevated, with a wand clutched in its talons. Behind the eagle was a pointed blue shield with a burnt orange X pattern.  Along the top were the words 'supergreditur enim', whatever that meant. The irony of his house's animal and color being a part of the Snyde family crest was not lost on him. Another clue was the overgrown nature of the grounds. Where once stood a well maintained garden, now had been replaced by an explosion of vegetation. It was clear that Merula had not bothered to keep up with the groundskeeping of her childhood home. And what a home it was. He wasn't sure how many rooms a mansion of that size would hold, but he figured there must be at least a dozen. The building would look quite stately if it weren't for the ivy that began to grow along it in the years since the owners were arrested. A high wall enclosed the grounds, clearly intended to keep the world out.

 

As he circled above the property he watched the little owl approach a second story window on the building's front face. Seconds after the owl made its presence known by taps on the window, the glass barrier was lifted from the inside by a familiar mess of hair. Even with his incredible falcon eyes he only caught a glimpse of the girl's face before she'd retrieved the message and gone back into the room. Owlexander took off towards home, so Andrew followed. On the return trip he looked for the same landmarks he'd noted on the flight there.

 

Soon the birds flew through the window they'd started from. Owlexander returned to his cage and seemed to immediately fall asleep. Andrew transformed into his human self in the middle of the room and looked at the clock on his nightstand. It showed 11:17. So about an hour and a half each way. He could probably cut that down to an hour each way once he stopped going at the pace set by his family's fat owl. He quickly made his way to his desk and wrote a list of the various landmarks he'd noted on his excursion. If he studied this for a few days and continued to follow his letters as they were delivered, he could surely attempt a solo journey. Then if he assumed that journey was a success, he'd be able to make his actual first visit. To Merula Snyde's manor. Where it would just be the two of them. Did it suddenly get hotter in here? Perhaps he should shut the window.

* * *

 

That night after dinner Andrew lay on his bed focused on a book about the precious little wizard kind knew of how goblins created their famed magical weapons and armor. He nearly threw the book when the silence was broken, as a sudden scratching noise came from his window. An owl? Oh right, an owl! He scrambled his way out of bed and opened the window as fast as he was able to. A regal looking great horned owl held out its leg to deliver the attached letter. When his nervous fingers finally freed the message, he read "Andrew Ward" in Merula's small handwriting. 

 

"Thanks. Would you like a treat?" Andrew asked the visiting bird as he reached for the nearby stash of owl treats. Instead the owl simply turned and flew away. It almost seemed to roll its eyes at him, but that couldn't be. Owls didn't do that, did they? Well if any owl would it would certainly be Merula's. With the owl gone there was nothing to do but open the letter and read it.

 

_Ward,_

 

_Merlin I'd almost forgotten how awful your penmanship is. Slow down when you write so it doesn't take as long to decipher._

 

_I know you're trying to antagonize me and it isn't going to work. Am I ready for this? Obviously I'm more prepared than you are. You didn't even have any ideas for dates the day you ~~almost kis~~ confessed your feelings for me. I understand you had no way to resist my charms, but you really should have had more of a plan.  _

 

_As to whether our relationship should be public knowledge, I think it best to keep it to ourselves for now. Yes, okay part of it has to do with the blood issue. Which I know you don't understand. It's something that you have to be raised with to understand, and even then let's just say I'm starting to doubt its importance._ **_BUT_ ** _that is not the only reason to keep it secret. I'm well aware of the reputation I have at school. If people know about us, they're going to talk and judge us. Especially your friends. While I care little for their opinions, I know that you_ **_DO_ ** _care. Greatly. I don't want to cause problems for you with your cult._

 

_For other rules the only thing I can think of is I don't want you to start using some silly pet name for me. It's bad enough you're prone to abbreviate my name as it is. I suppose I don't mind that so much anymore, so you may call me Mer as much as you'd like. You'd probably do it anyway. But no sweetie, honey, sugar, etc. We both know I'm none of those things and using them would be ridiculous. Other than that we'll just have to figure things out as we go._

 

**_ME TOO!_ ** _I swear that oaf has the absolute worst timing in the entire wizarding world. Probably the muggle world too. However, I'm certain we'll have more opportunities ~~to ki~~ for intimate moments. _

 

_Merula Snyde_

 

Andrew read the message through twice to make sure he didn't miss anything. That she wanted to keep things secret wasn't a surprise, but he didn't expect that part of the reason would be because she didn't want him to be negatively impacted. The great news was that she was obviously still keen on the idea of being together. She'd even mentioned 'opportunities for intimate moments', which filled him with equal parts excitement and nervousness. The ban on pet names wasn't bad. She'd already accepted having her name abbreviated. That rule probably wouldn't last forever. Besides, she'd just made a mistake and given him a new way to annoy her when he wanted to. It was quite easy to push her buttons when she conveniently pointed them out to him. Satisfied with how things had developed thus far, he moved to his desk to craft a response. He found it much easier than the first letter.

 

_Mer,_

 

_Oh, I'm sorry. I seem to have forgotten all the ideas_ **_YOU_ ** _came up with for dates that day. Wait, that's right, you didn't have any either. So if anything we were equally unprepared. Besides, now that we both know that we're interested in each other I can start making plans. Which is my specialty, thus making me more prepared._

 

_~~I don't~~ While I do care what my friends think, I care about you too. So I'm willing to risk it. There would only be a few that I would expect serious objections from. Besides, I can be quite persuasive. Cults don't just form themselves you know. Actually you may be surprised to learn that you already have a supporter in the group. Tulip has been telling me to ask you out for months while I awkwardly tried to deny being interested. Which, given how dreadful a liar I am, worked about as well as you'd expect. Still though, I'm fine keeping it private for now. I think eventually you'll warm up to the idea. Again, I'm quite persuasive. _

 

_Speaking of you warming up to ideas, I'm glad to hear that you've grown accustomed to your nickname. I must say though I'm disappointed you think so little of my pet name creativity. Sweetie? Sugar? Surely you know I can do better than that. Off the top of my head I'd say the best pet name for you would be Mer bear. 1. It rhymes. 2. Bears are dangerous. 3. Bears can also be adorable. It's honestly perfect and now I'm sad that I can't use it._

 

_Hhhmmm, I_ **_am_ ** _quite interested in more intimate moments. Please tell me more about these opportunities._

 

_Andrew_

 

Satisfied with his handiwork, he decided to head to bed and rest for his second journey the next morning. With the first trip and letter out of the way, he fell asleep much easier than he had the previous night. A lot of the initial stress had been lifted now that the first message and trip were a success.

* * *

  


The next morning he woke to the sun on his face, and a clock that showed a time of 9:09. His mother had already gone to the office, so he took time for a quick bowl of cereal before he prepared his owl for the second journey. The fact that he'd flown the route before made it easy to find most of the landmarks he'd memorized the previous day. The response came sooner than it had the previous day. Merula's owl showed up at 4 before his mother had even gotten home. He tore the missive open as soon as he retrieved it, and as expected the bird that delivered it simply turned and left.

 

_Ward,_

 

_Ok, first of all, you're the one who initiated the process. Therefore the burden of having a plan falls on you. Second, technically I never actually said that I was interested out loud. So really you're just being arrogant and making assumptions. Finally, since when has planning been your specialty? I seem to remember your plan to meet with a certain centaur going poorly. Or that time you were going to "improve" the pepperup potion that_ **_literally_ ** _blew up in your face. No, clearly I'm the one who is more prepared for this relationship._

 

_Ugh. You know it would be much easier to believe that you would risk your friendships to be with me if I could look in your eyes. You have very honest eyes. Normally that's a bad thing, but_ **_occasionally_ ** _it can be helpful. Like when you're trying to convince me that you're telling the truth, for instance. Though I doubt you are. Honestly, you expect me to believe that_ **_Tulip_ ** _is in my corner? After everything that happened between us? I'm still shocked she lets me use her toad for the frog choir, though now I suspect you might have had a hand in that. You seem certain in your persuasive abilities after all._

 

_I swear if you_ **_ever_ ** _call me that your tongue will be forever tied by the power of the jinx I hit you with. And you can also forget about ever seeing me again._ **_DON'T TEST ME WARD!_ **

 

_Merula_

 

Andrew wasn't entirely sure how a single letter could annoy him, make him feel good, and make him laugh at the fact that he had annoyed her. The part about his eyes caused him to go to the bathroom to stare at them in the mirror in an attempt to figure out how they were honest. Then an idea spurred him to run back to his desk and jot it down on his page for possible projects. He'd look into that later. First he needed to write out a response to this second letter.

 

_Mer_

 

_Yes, but I didn't set out with the intention of initiating anything.  I was just trying to calm you down and explain that the rumors weren't true. You basically forced me to tell you at wandpoint. As for you not explicitly stating your interest, I think you lost the ability to claim that when your first letter brought up "opportunities for intimate moments". Nice try though. Finally, those weren't plans they were ideas! There's a difference and you know it._

 

_Well I would send you my eyes to convince you, but unfortunately Owlexander would probably eat them along the way. I am quite resourceful though. Maybe I could find a way to come visit you. Hypothetically. You know if you were interested in such a visit. Then my eyes could do whatever it is they do to be convincing. Because I am telling the truth. Tulip wouldn't let it go. I think she wants to fix things between the two of you, if you are willing._

 

_Alright Mer. No pet names. I'll be good. Probably._

 

_Andrew_

 

Pleased with what he'd written and with the opportunity to ask for an invitation, Andrew happily closed the letter and addressed it. He considered sending it right away, but knew he didn't have time. Being home before mum was one of the conditions after all. As if on cue, his ears picked up the sound of flames and footsteps that announced her return. Instead he decided to pull out his worn copy of 'Magical Artifacts Through the Ages' and do a bit of research for his newest project. In the morning he would take one final trip, just to make absolutely certain he was ready.

* * *

 

The third flight proved to be a breeze. Andrew easily found every landmark on the way there. This left him feeling so confident that he turned around early to fly back without a guide. Since he didn't need to go at the pace of the fat owl he was able to make it back in record time. This had actually worked, at least so far. Now he just needed to get some sort of invitation out of Merula, preferably without the surprise being ruined, and he'd be all set. Only thing to do was to wait on the owls, so he grabbed a book on runes and started to work out which would serve his purposes best on his new project. Perhaps transportation? Or maybe illusion would be better? Both?

 

A half hour or so later his owl flew through the open window and to the comfort of its perch. After another hour the now familiar large owl landed in the open window. Andrew thanked it as he retrieved the message and tore it open. He flopped down onto his bed and began to read.

 

_Ward_

 

_Of course you didn't intend to. That's my point. You didn't plan anything. And I wasn't holding you at wandpoint to get a confession out of you. It was because you'd made me mad. How was I to know the rumor wasn't true? Careful Ward, keep arguing and you'll find yourself with a lot less "opportunities" than you would otherwise have. The only difference between your plans and your ideas is the label you put on them based on whether or not they succeed._

 

_Seriously? You named your owl with a pun? You are so ridiculous. An owl should have a proper name, like my owl Thaddeus. They should also be well trained. Thaddeus would never eat something he was instructed to deliver. Maybe you can send your eyes back with him next time, as I don't know how you'd go about visiting. You don't even know where I live, and if you did how would you even get here? Sure, I'd_ **_like_ ** _for you to visit. Hypothetically. But let's just say I'd be quite impressed if you managed to pull it off._

 

_Tulip might be ready to patch things up, but that doesn't mean I am. Not yet at least. I'd need to think about it more. If she already suspects your interest in me though we'll have to be extra careful not to give anything away around her. Don't underestimate her, that witch is more crafty and observant than she lets on._

 

_Merula_

 

Andrew couldn't resist a celebratory whoop halfway through the note. Yes. She'd like for him to visit. Add to that she didn't seem to suspect a thing and everything seemed to have worked out. Tomorrow would be the day. Oh, that's a big deal. Anxiety and excitement rose within him in unison. Right. First things first, find something to wear. After he had rifled through his closet and wardrobe, he ended up with something simple. His best blue jeans and a white t-shirt that was just a bit tighter than he usually wore. Andrew might not have muscles to the extent that say Barnaby did, but he felt he had enough to work with. Maybe he should start doing push ups. Barnaby probably did push ups. He'd finish it up with his black Converse All Stars and his favorite sunglasses, blue ones with a bronze eagle on the right side. What he wouldn't give for it to be morning already.

* * *

 

Eventually the time was upon him. He let his mother know before she left for work. "Best of luck son," Trudy said while she pulled him into a tight hug. "No pressure, but try not to muck it up, yeah?" she added with a playful pat on his cheek before she stepped into the fire. The joke got a light chuckle out of him and even managed to relieve a bit of the tension he'd been feeling.

 

With that he headed back upstairs. Andrew wrote one last message, this one simply read " _Check your front gate_." Then he coaxed out Owlexander and assured the creature that if this went well there would be no more work for the rest of the summer. Finally he opened the window and made his way to a meeting he very much hoped would go well.

 

This time Andrew flew ahead of the owl and had no trouble with his landmarks. Although he didn't go quite as fast as he could. He didn't want to leave the bird behind completely, just stay ahead of it by a few minutes. He arrived at the manor and swiftly found a secluded set of bushes along the side wall line. The boy landed among them and transformed into his normal self out of sight. The butterflies started to flutter in Andrew's stomach as he made his way back to the front and stood before the large metal gate. He spotted folded pieces of parchment stuck into cracks in the wall the gates were attached to. The crest looked quite nice up close. He'd have to remember to ask what the Latin meant. Until then he would watch the skies for signs of his owl, who appeared on the horizon a few minutes later. As it approached Merula's window Andrew took these last few seconds to make sure his long hair was pushed back like it should be, 

 

It only took a moment for the girl to appear at the window and retrieve the short message. She turned away as the owl left, only to stick her head through the window seconds later once she had read the note. Andrew just waved with a huge grin on his face. Merula saw him and immediately stood in surprise, which was unfortunate since her head was out of a window at the time. The sound of distant swears drifted their way to the gate as she disappeared with a hand pressed to the back of her head.

 

Several minutes later and the large front door of the building opened. As she made her way down the wide path, Andrew got his first good look at her all summer. This caused him to suddenly realize two facts. The first was that, with the exception of the Celestial Ball, he had never seen her in anything besides Hogwarts class robes. The second was that Hogwarts class robes were not very flattering. She wore a grey sleeveless tank top, rolled jean shorts over tights, and her trademark combat boots. Everything seemed to cling to her body and Andrew forgot what he had planned to say on the way over. Something clever? By the time she made it to the gate he had mostly managed to shake himself out of his hormone induced shock. "Ward? What are you doing here?" Merula asked as she drew near. Her face had a forced look of annoyance, but there were small signs of happiness that the Ravenclaw had learned to identify over the past year. A slight twitch of the lip and eyes that weren't quite as dagger-like as they once were.

 

"Hi Mer. Well you said that you'd like for me to visit. In fact I was told you would be impressed and you don't look very impressed," he said as casually as she could and leaned against the gate's thick bars.

 

"Okay, yes I did say that. But I thought it was hypothetical. How did you ev...oh you probably flew since you're a bird brain after all. But how did you know where to find me?" she said as she began to work things out in her mind. Her eyes looked him over as she continued, "Wait. Let me guess. You followed your owl with the absurd name the last few days."

 

Andrew's flashed his crooked smile, the right side of his lip raised above the rest. "Ding, ding. Ten points to the clever witch from Slytherin," he replied cheerfully.

 

"So, you came all this way just to see me? Seems you already can't get enough of me Ward," she smirked as she teased him. The girl leaned against the other side of the gate a foot or so away from her counterpart.

 

"Actually I've been told that there's an incredible collection of chocolate frog cards here that I simply had to see. The fact that I get to see you is just the icing on the cake," the mischievous teen replied.

 

The cocky witch was undeterred. "Well that makes sense, everyone knows the icing is the best part of cake after all," she fired right back.

 

"It's certainly my favorite part. So can I come in or would you prefer to talk to each other through this nice gate for a few hours?" Andrew asked as he pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head. Merula must have appreciated it, since her smile widened.

 

"Fine, I suppose that would be alright," she said with a roll of her eyes he didn't believe for a second. "I just have to give you a written invitation to get you through all the defensive charms and curses. Wait here and I'll be back with some parchment," she said as she pushed off the gate and began to turn around.

 

Andrew stared for a moment as she retreated to the house before he was struck with an idea. "Hold on," he called after her. "There's some parchment in the wall here and I've got a muggle pen. Why not just use that, whatever it is?"

 

Merula stopped in her tracks and her demeanor shifted instantly. As she made her way back, her posture became more aggressive and her face looked like a mixture of anger and sadness. "Fine. They're nothing important, just threatening messages people leave for me when they don't feel like paying for a howler," she explained with a grimace.

 

"They're what?!" Andrew shouted as he snatched the nearest one and began to read it. The author promised to make her wish she'd never been born because of what her parents did to Elias Whitmire. He grabbed two more and they were generally the same with the exception of the victims names.

 

Merula sighed as he read and explained, "It's not a big deal Ward. Look my parents and the rest of Voldemort's followers hurt and killed a lot of people. Their families are angry and so occasionally I get things like that. It's easy enough to ignore as long as it isn't a howler."

 

"Not a big deal?" Andrew responded incredulously. His voice began to rise as he got mad at the situation. "Merula people are threatening you. It's not like **you** did those things. You were just a girl at the time for Christsake. This is harassment is what this is. You ought to report it. Get these arseholes to back off."

 

She just scoffed at him, "Yes because I'm sure the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is going to come rushing to the aid of the daughter of death eaters. Be realistic Ward. Just hand me one and I'll write your invite." She thrust an arm between the bars of the gate and waited. He handed her the parchment she asked for and his pen. However while she wrote his invitation against the wall, he took the opportunity to subtly grab a handful of the other threats and stuff them in his back pocket. She might have come to accept this treatment, but he'd be damned if he would just sit back and let people threaten his new girlfriend.

 

When she was finished she handed the parchment and pen back to him and began to open the gate enough for Andrew to enter. He looked at the note, the threat it once held violently crossed out. Her writing simply said " _Andrew Ward is hereby welcome at Snyde manor by order of Merula Snyde"_. As he entered and helped shut the gate he could tell the mood had been soured by the last topic, so he tried to get things back to fun. "You know I quite like the crest you've got there. The colors and animal are really top notch," he joked while he pointed to his house themed sunglasses. The teens started to walk side by side towards the large building in front of them.

 

"For your information the colors represent strength and ambition. The eagle has been a symbol of strength too for centuries before Rowena Ravenclaw came along. You lot don't have sole claim to the bird," she argued as she caught his implication. She bumped him playfully.

 

"Never said we did. I'm just appreciating the irony is all. What does the Latin at the top mean?" Andrew asked as things once more became comfortable between them. 

 

"Supergreditur enim," she recited in a way that made it clear this was something she'd been expected to memorize as a child. "It means 'we rise above'."

 

That put a smile on his face. "Oh, so like resilience and overcoming adversity? That's quite nice. I guess that means your family has always been stubborn," he teased.

 

"Har har," she shot back with a roll of her magnificent violet eyes. "For your information it is actually more along the lines of 'we rise above everyone else'."

 

The boy's face scrunched up. "Eww, really? I like my interpretation better."

 

"Yes well, take it up with my ancestors," she concluded as the pair came up the porch and stood in front of the large door to the house. "After you," she added with a nudge when he hesitated by the entrance.

 

Andrew turned the handle and tentatively stepped inside. The first thing he came across was a long hallway lined with paintings of impressive magical creatures. Dragons, unicorns, and similar creatures roamed in and out of the various frames, occasionally coming into minor conflict with one another. As he left the hall it opened into a cavernous living room. Plush furniture sat around three sides of a large coffee table. The other side faced a fireplace. There were a pair of curved staircases that led to a second floor and several doors that opened into rooms that were probably just as impressive. It was all a bit overwhelming and the only thing he could manage to say was, "Wow."

 

"What? Never seen a place like this Ward?" the girl asked with a smug smile. Her pride in her home was almost palpable.

 

"You could fit my house in this place multiple times over," he said in awe. Then an idea came to him and he added, "I'm a bit worried I'll get lost."

 

"Lost?" Merula asked in disbelief.

 

"Oh yeah. I'm rubbish with directions. You should probably hold my hand. You know, for safety purposes," he explained with a wink.

 

The girl wasted no time. She immediately snatched his hand and intertwined their fingers. "Oh that wouldn't do at all. I can't go losing my boyfriend already, not when I've only just got him," she purred playfully. "Come on, my room is this way. I'll show you the cards first and then give you a tour."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so a bit of info on the crest if anyone is interested. At first I was gonna do something with green and snakes like you might expect from a family of death eaters, but then I remembered Merula is always bragging about being 4th generation Slytherin. Which means that at a minimum 4 generations before her all of her great great grandparents were in houses besides Slytherin. So then I started playing with the idea of the Snyde family changing over the years. I tried to make a crest that would fit them as they are now while still being open to other interpretations. All the stuff Merula explained about the colors and the eagle are accurate, at least according to the site I designed it on. Additionally, the X pattern stands for resolve. As for the Latin bit courtesy of Google translate, same thing there. When the crest was originally created it was intended to be about overcoming adversity like Andrew thought. But then after a few centuries it got twisted and became about being better than others.


	14. Gimme Chocolate!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew is late to visit his new girlfriend and afraid it will lead to a fight. Which it would have, if something more pressing hadn't come up for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a song by a band called Babymetal. 
> 
> Don't really have anything to announce this time, so I'll just reiterate how much I appreciate each and every one of you who are reading this.

Two weeks later Andrew awoke to the glare of sun shine in his eyes. He turned away and used a hand to block his face, only to realize said hand had ink on it. Which meant his face now had ink on it. Great. He sat up and remembered where he was, at his desk. He must have fallen asleep while doing research and theorizing on what he had now dubbed Project Glass. No more all nighters, especially considering it was summer and there was no rush. That's how you wake up covered in ink at, he turned to find the clock, 11:25. Wait, 11:25?! Shit, he was late. He was so late. And his new girlfriend wasn't exactly patient. Andrew knocked the chair over as he rushed to find his shoes and get them on. He grabbed his leather satchel, which contained the surprise he hoped would get him out of trouble, and was out the window. All of this took less than two minutes.

 

Wings pumped and wind whipped by as Andrew strove to make up time. When he finally drew near he rolled into a dive into the bushes, falling at over 200 MPH. At that moment he was the fastest creature on the planet and he still felt a need to hurry. He changed before his talons touched the ground and stumbled a bit as he fell the unexpected short distance. The boy managed to stay on his feet and dashed to the gate, which he then shook in the hope that it would get the attention of the home's occupant. As he waited he took the opportunity to catch a breath and assess his appearance. It was objectively a mess. A loose blue Ravenclaw t-shirt with old ink stains and blue jeans that followed the ink theme he seemed to have chosen today. His hair was a bit knotted, and as he used his fingers to work on that, Merula came to her window and stuck her head out. She looked quite annoyed.

 

"You're late!" Merula shouted from her second story window. She had on a purple tank top that clung to her and almost left him distracted. "I'm not letting you in!"

 

"Fine! Can you just come down so I can apologize without half the country hearing?!" he shouted in response. Maybe then he could talk his way out of this.

 

"Ok! But there better be grovelling!" she answered before she pulled her head back inside and closed the window.

 

While Andrew waited and considered what he would say, he became aware of someone else on the sidewalk with him. Headed in the boy's direction was a thin, disheveled man. The man wore a collared shirt, but some of the buttons had clearly been done in the wrong order. His skin was pale and his balding red hair was accompanied by a beard that was at least a week old. Even as he approached Andrew was able to pick up the scent of alcohol on him. Must be some wandering bum.

 

"Excuse me, but do you happen to know who lives in this house?" the stranger asked with a raspy voice.

 

"Well as of right now it's my girlfriend, although that might change in the next couple of minutes. Wish me luck," Andrew joked with his best smile. 

 

He turned around at the sound of the door and couldn't help but grin at the sight of his former nemesis and current girlfriend. In addition to the tank top she was wearing thin grey sweatpants and she hadn't bothered to put on shoes. Clearly when he hadn't shown up she'd decided to get comfortable. Her hair was it's usual mess of brown, with a slight curl to the small orange section. He'd noticed she would twirl it absentmindedly sometimes when she was anxious or deep in thought. She marched down the path with a cross look, which was suddenly replaced by one of confusion and finally fear. 

 

"Andrew, run away! Get out of here!" Merula shouted as she broke into a sprint for the gate. What?

 

Andrew began to turn around, his hand instinctively moved toward his wand, when a wooden point was shoved into his neck and he froze. "Ah ah ah, let's not do anything hasty now," the man chastised. Out of his peripheral vision Andrew was able to confirm that this man currently held him at wandpoint. His mind raced to recall the advice his mother had once given him when it came to being threatened while you were unarmed.

* * *

 

_ "The most important thing to remember son is that you're trying to de escalate the situation. Try not to do or say anything that would cause them to attack. Just be agreeable and try to put them at ease," his mother had told him. _

 

_ "So can I make jokes?" 12 year old Andrew had asked in the hopes his strengths could come into play. _

 

_ "As long as they're the 'make people laugh' type and not the 'annoy people to get a laugh' kind, sure. Another good strategy is to do things that make the person feel smart and in charge of the situation. When they're confident you'll be able to figure out what their objective is and plan accordingly. If they get concerned or worked up it can make them unpredictable and that's the last thing you want," the auror explained to her son. _

 

_ "Okay, okay. So I'm keeping things calm and light hearted. Then what? I assume I don't talk them to death." _

 

_ "Not quite. Here come to the living room, I'll show you how to disarm them once you have their guard lowered and an opportunity," his mother said as she led the way. _

* * *

 

Andrew didn't remember all the details of disarming, but the first step was to talk things out anyway. He'd figure it out by the time he needed to. Probably. "Errr… that's a nice stick you've got there sir. Mind not poking me in the ne…" he began.

 

"Don't play dumb with me boy," the wizard snarled. "You wouldn't be dating little miss death eater here if you weren't a wizard yourself. Besides, you're in a Ravenclaw shirt. Not exactly a clever lie that."

 

Andrew slowly raised his arms in surrender while he also slouched. "Okay, sorry. You got me. I was just scared is all," the Ravenclaw explained. His attacker stood a little straighter, and Andrew was sure he'd managed to boost the man's confidence. Now he just needed to work out what the objective was here. "I'm Andrew, nice to meet you. You are?" Andrew asked as cordially as one can while under the threat of a wand in your neck.

 

"Bastard!" Merula shouted as her feet finally brought her to the gate. She had never really been one to de escalate. "Let him go. He's never done anything to anybody."

 

"Oh I wouldn't be making demands if I was you. He can't be that innocent. He's here after all. Even called you his little girlfriend. No I'd bet there's probably a few people this lad has hurt. You lot tend to stick together, although I'm surprised he's not another snake like you," the attacker explained as he dug his wand in a bit. This caused Merula to growl slightly. Her wand was out, but since Andrew was between her and the stranger she couldn't do much with it.

 

The nervous boy needed to get things under control before they escalated further. He quite liked his head and would prefer it remain attached to him for the remainder of the afternoon. He swallowed hard which pressed him further against the wand. Then he once again tried to be diplomatic and said, "Right, let's all settle a bit yeah? No need for this to get ugly. How about we start simple with who you are or why you're here? Is there something I can help you with?" Andrew forced the most pleasant smile he could given the circumstances.

 

"Well you see, I'm Tobias Whitmire. My son was murdered in  **that** house behind you by  **her** parents!" Tobias began and got louder as he went. He pointed with his free hand, first at the house and then at the Slytherin behind the fence. "The reason I'm here now is because an auror came 'round asking me why I was harassing  **her.** Like  **she's** the victim here or something."

 

"What? Why would an auror…" Merula began, then suddenly smacked the gate and caused a clang by Andrew's ear that made him to jump slightly. "Damn it! Did you tell your mother? I told you to let it go you idiot!"

 

"Oh I'm sorry, I guess I'm in the minority of boyfriends that don't like their girlfriend getting death threats. Yes, I mentioned to mum you were getting harassed. I'd do it again, too."

 

"Hold it! Shut up love birds, I'm the one talking here! You're telling me that the auror who came 'round asking questions is his mum?" Tobias asked as he poked Andrew again. He was quite agitated and Andrew worried that the situation might soon spiral out of control.

 

"Was she kinda tall, missing half an arm, and did she seem to know everything before she even asked?" Andrew clarified. The man nodded. "Sounds like my mum."

 

"But that doesn't make any sense! She said she worked with my son! I remember her from the funeral for Merlin's sake!" the man shouted as he pushed Andrew up against the gate. "Why would you be here?! Where it happened?! With one of the monsters responsible!" He shoved again and the teenager struggled to keep from being knocked down.

 

"Because she's not responsible!" Andrew shouted back, tired of being pushed and unhappy that someone had just called Merula a monster. "I mean how many years ago was this?! She was probably a child at the time!" 

 

"Doesn't matter how long it's been, to me it was yesterday!"

 

"It was November 13th, 1980," Merula seemed to mutter, more to the ground than to either of the two people on the other side of the fence. "I... I was seven and got up from bed to get some water. I was expected to do things like that for myself after all. Only before I got to the stairs I heard... voices. I looked down and saw my parents arguing with someone. I... I didn't know what to do…and then there was a flash of green…" Merula told her story but trailed off as she recalled the horror of seeing her parents kill someone. Her head hung low and her shoulders were slumped.

 

"Mer. I'm so sor…" Andrew began only to be interrupted.

 

Tobias looked and sounded vindicated. "Ha, hear that? She admits to being there. And yet she did nothing. Nothing! That makes her just as guilty as the evil pair that spawned her."

 

"Are you insane? She was seven at the time! What could she have possibly done?" Andrew shouted back. What was wrong with this man? Grief does strange things, but did he seriously blame a child for being incapable of stopping a murder?

 

"Me?! You're the insane one! Taking the side of this tiny murderer!" Tobias screamed as he took his wand off Andrew's neck to point it around the boy at Merula, who had remained silent and kept her eyes on the ground since she'd revealed her secret. The teenager decided this was his best chance and grabbed the wand with both hands. They wrestled over it for a moment and Merula screamed something Andrew didn't catch. A spell fired while the wand was aimed at the ground which knocked the pair down, though both continued to hold on. Andrew managed to use his long limbs to his advantage and thrust his elbow at the man's nose. A second elbow managed to loosen his attacker's grip enough that he was able to gain complete control of the wand. He rolled away to his feet and saw that Merula had opened the gate, so he quickly darted inside. The teens shut the gate once more as Tobias got to his feet, blood already beginning to trickle down from his nose.

 

For a moment no one said anything. The tension and anger in the air was palpable. Then the silence was broken by the man on the outside. "This isn't over. I'll never forgive you for what your parents did. Sleep with one eye open girlie," he threatened with a finger pointed at her. 

 

"Oh you're damn right it's not over. You just made yourself an enemy for…" Merula began with ice in her voice and eyes that could kill.

 

"No this ends today," Andrew interrupted. He'd had enough of this shit. "You ever so much as set foot on this street again and I'll be sure to share my memories of today with the authorities. The Ministry doesn't take too kindly to people that physically threaten and assault minors."

 

Tobias scoffed in disbelief. " _ Pfft  _ Like anyone would care about a death eater's kid," he responded dismissively.

 

"Except you didn't attack that kid you stupid prat. No you attacked the son of the auror who captured Bellatrix Lestrange. Bet that won't look too good for you at your trial," Merula sneered back.

 

"But hey, you could always ask for a cell near the Snydes during your stint in Azkaban. Maybe then you'll remember which people you should blame for your loss," Andrew added just to twist the knife a bit.

 

Tobias didn't say anything at first. His brow was furrowed as he tried to figure out what to do with the information he'd learned. "Right fine. Whatever. Give me my wand back and you'll never see me again," he eventually relented as he realized the position he had put himself in. 

 

"On one condition. When you get home, consider how your son would feel about you threatening and attacking kids in his name," the Ravenclaw demanded. When he got a nod in response he tossed the wand between the bars of the gate. The aggressive stranger caught it and disapparated, though not before he flashed the teens a middle finger. Both breathed a loud sigh of relief.

 

"Well Mer that could have been worse. Nice job bringing up the Bella… _ oof, _ " Andrew began only to be cut off when he was nearly bowled over as the smaller girl ran into his chest. Her arms wrapped around him and squeezed as though she was afraid he'd disappear if she loosened her grip for even a second. She mumbled something into his shirt that he couldn't quite hear. Not really sure how to react, he placed his left arm around her and stroked her hair with his right hand. "It's alright Merula. It's over. Everything is fine," he managed to say as soothingly as he could.

 

This would turn out to be the wrong thing to say. "Fine?" She asked as she pushed herself away from him, eyes ablaze. "It's. Not. Fine. You. Were. In. Danger. Stupid," she berated him. Each word was accompanied by a smack of her hand that he attempted to fend off with his arms. "I told you to let it go."

 

"Yeah well, you should know me well enough by now to know I'm not just going to let people threaten my girlfriend. You're too important to me," he fired back in his defense.

 

Merula crossed her arms and glared at her boyfriend with a huff. He made the wise decision not to point out that it looked a bit cute, since her cheeks had gotten a pink tint to them when he'd called her important. "Fine. Fine. Whatever," she said petulantly. "Don't think I've forgotten you were late too. And why are you covered in ink?" Merula asked while she pointed at his various ink spots.

 

"Oh right, that. Sorry. See what happened was I fell asleep at my desk because I stayed up late working on a new project, and then I overslept," he explained himself sheepishly, while he suddenly found the ground very interesting. Then he gave a pat to the leather satchel by his side. "But, I did bring a bribe in the hopes of getting your forgiveness."

 

"Bribe? What's the bribe?" Merula asked as she failed to contain both her curiosity and her excitement.

 

Andrew gave her a mischievous smile since he knew he'd piqued her interest. "Sorry, you'll have to invite me inside to find out," he said playfully.

 

Merula seemed to weigh her anger with him against her curiosity over what the bribe might be. "Okay, let's see what you've brought me," she eventually said while she grabbed his arm. Together the two of them made their way to the home's living room, where Andrew flopped on the couch. Merula remained standing, hands on her hips as she waited for the promised bribe.

 

"Alright, well since I know you collect the cards I got you this," he said as he reached in the bag and withdrew the box of a chocolate frog. He tossed it to her and relaxed at the smile she attempted to suppress.

 

"Well I probably have the card, but luckily for you I love chocolate anyway," she said as she began to carefully open the box in her hands. When he saw how pleased she was Andrew relaxed completely. He closed his eyes and even let out a small yawn. Just how late had he been up? "Ah! Yes! I can't believe it!" Merula shouted in triumph seconds later.

 

The Ravenclaw opened his eyes in time to see his usually reserved girlfriend jump up and down in excitement. "I take it you don't have that card then," he drawled out.

 

"I don't. It's one of the rarest cards, Gunhilda de Gorsemoor."

 

"Gesundheit?" Andrew joked with a smile.

 

She rolled her eyes at him. "It's not a sneeze, she is the witch who invented the cure for dragon pox," the girl explained. "But thank you. I suppose you are forgiven."

 

He closed his eyes once more and leaned back on the couch. "See I knew a bribe would work," he bragged casually. Footsteps told him that she approached on his right, so he turned his head that direction. Only when he did he ran into something. Or more precisely his lips ran into something. Something soft and warm. His eyes flew open to see Merula pressed against him. Her violet orbs consumed his vision and seemed just as shocked at what had happened. She quickly broke off and turned her back to him. Her left foot began to tap at high speed. Did that just happen? Just like that? He struggled to process the moment. His mind had come to a screening halt. He opened his mouth to speak, failed to find a single word, and closed it again. This process was repeated a half dozen times.

 

While Andrew did his best fish out of water impression, Merula steadied her foot and finally turned back to face him. Her cheeks were redder than he'd ever seen them, and her expression was shifting so rapidly he couldn't figure it out. Though he also hadn't managed to figure out speech yet, so his brain might have just decided to take the rest of the afternoon off. "L...look. I was aiming for your cheek, ok? You're the one who turned at the last second. S...so if you didn't like it you've no one to blame but yourself," she said trying to deflect blame that was never going to come anyway. "Merlin, Ward say something already," the girl demanded when he continued to gawk.

 

"R...right. Err…yeah so is that going to happen  **every** time I get you chocolate? I suppose I'll need to get a summer job just to buy more," he said once his brain decided to start up again. A grin took up as much of his face as physically possible now that he'd processed what just happened. He'd just had his first kiss. With Merula Snyde of all people. The only question that remained was how to get a second. Preferably one that was intentional.

 

Merula tentatively sat on the couch, not quite next to him but also not as far away as she could have been. "So...so you liked it then?" she asked.

 

"Liked it? It was the best first kiss I've ever had. Granted, it's the only one I've had, but still," he said encouragingly while he inched slightly closer to her.

 

"You do realize that also means it's the worst first kiss by default, right?" Merula teased as she moved to meet him.

 

"Oh my. Oh that just won't do. Not for the most powerful witch at Hogwarts," he continued in a tone of mock concern as the two teenage bodies came into contact. He slowly put his right arm around her and she did not protest. Okay, so far so good Andrew. His voice became conspiratorial as he continued, "You know I think I know a way we can fix that."

 

She moved her head onto his shoulder and looked up at him with a soft smile. Her hand tucked some loose hair behind her ear as she said, "Oh, do tell."

 

"Well, since the kiss wasn't intentional I'm not sure it should  **really** count as our official first kiss. It's only fair that we get another shot at it," he rationalized to her as he used his left hand to push back any of his own stray hairs that had fallen out of place.

 

"Hmmm. A  **second** first kiss? I think that could work for me," she purred. Her hand walked its way up his chest and came to rest on his shoulder. She gently pulled and he knew that the time for words was over. 

 

Instead he obeyed, bringing his face towards hers. As he leaned down, she made her way up. He breathed in deeply and smelled the familiar mix of cloves, coffee, and the other thing he still couldn't identify. To him it was just 'Merula smell' at this point. One last look to aim and he closed his eyes, since he was pretty sure that's what he was supposed to do. Her lips were as soft and warm as they had been before, but where the first kiss had been timid and accidental, this one had a force and purpose. He wanted this. She wanted it. And once they started that want became a need. He found his lips were shifting on their own and hers began to do the same. Andrew's arms sought to bring her closer and God her body was soft. Meanwhile she'd worked a hand into his hair and had a hold of the back of his head. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but that was apparently not enough to stop them. There was one thing he was sure of though.

 

He would definitely be buying more chocolate frogs in the future.


	15. Loading the Train

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eventually summer must come to an end. A return to school and the first of many secret meetings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a song from Dumbo.
> 
> Next chapter might take a bit, as I'm getting involved on some other projects. Never fear though, I'm definitely not done with this story.

The remainder of the summer passed in a blur of bliss. The pair got quite a bit of practice kissing, and when they weren't doing that they talked about anything and everything. They made plans for when and where they could be alone once they were back at school. Merula showed him the entirety of her home, with the exception of the portrait gallery that contained the living portraits of several of her ancestors. True to his nature, Andrew spent several hours being shown around the Snyde's personal library. He even borrowed a book on the history of magical forms of communication. As September approached Andrew began to take more risks in order to stretch their time together as much as possible. He stayed later in the day and once barely made it home before his mother entered his room to check on him. The week leading up to September 1st he even risked the auror's wrath by going three days instead of the one he'd been limited to.

* * *

 

Eventually the summer came to a close anyway, and Hogwarts' students once more gathered on platform nine and three quarters to ride the train back to school. Andrew forced himself to **not** look for Merula and instead find some of his friends to share a compartment with. He ended up finding Penny, who he saw had also been given a prefect's badge, thanks to her distinctive hair. She was in a hushed conversation with a girl in generic Hogwarts robes, clearly a first year on her way to be sorted and join the school. The girl seemed a bit nervous and excited at the same time, which was common among students on their first day. She had Penny's blonde hair, although hers was cut in a short bob as opposed to Penny's long, intricate braids. Penny had mentioned a younger sister before and it seemed safe to assume that's who this was.

 

"Penny, hey would... you introduce me to your sister?" Andrew called as he pushed his cart of belongings towards them. The word play caused the right half of his lip to curl and form his usual smirk.

 

The girls turned to him with a pair of matching smiles. The younger sister spoke up first, "Hey. Would. Get it Pen? It's like our surname!" Excitement radiated off the beaming 11 year old as she got the joke.

 

"Yes, believe it or not he's actually used that one before. Andrew, this is my sister Beatrice or Bea as I like to call her. Bea, this is my friend Andrew," Penny said as she introduced the two.

 

"Nice to meet you Bea. Excited to get to Hogwarts and get sorted?" Andrew asked pleasantly.

 

Somehow the girl in front of him managed to grow in her eagerness. "Oh yes! Obviously I'm hoping to be in Hufflepuff like my sister, although Ravenclaw would also be great!" Beatrice rapidly responded. 

 

Andrew raised a curious eyebrow. "Ravenclaw?" he asked. Perhaps she's as clever as Penny is with potions.

 

"I may have told Bea about your various adventures. Ever since she's looked up to you. You're the first thing she would ask me about whenever I got home for holiday breaks," Penny explained.

 

The Ravenclaw prefect looked about the platform to avoid eye contact. He'd never been comfortable with being admired. Shouldn't Beatrice look up to her sister? Or literally anyone else? "Yeah well, most people look up to me. That's how it works when you're as tall as I am," Andrew deflected. "Well, I'm sure if you're like your sister you would be a wonderful addition to Ravenclaw."

 

"I would! I could also help you with the vaults like Penny does! Can I please join in an adventure?" Bea asked hopefully.

 

One look at Penny and he could tell she did **not** want her little sister getting into harm's way. But the kid looked **so** eager. Andrew didn't want to crush the girl's dreams before she'd even gotten on the train. "Err…while I'm sure she told you all the most exciting bits, you should also know that a big part of the process is countless hours in the library and searches of places you've already searched a dozen times in the hopes you find something new. You can chip in with those at first, but I'm afraid I'll have to defer to your sister's judgement when it comes to the dangerous bits," he explained what he hoped was a decent compromise.

 

"Can I?" the excitable girl asked as she wheeled on her sister.

 

Penny gave her friend a scathing look before she turned back to the first year. "Look Bea, some of this stuff is really dangerous. Maybe when you're a little older," the new Hufflepuff prefect told her sibling gently with a hand on her shoulder.

 

"What? That's not fair! You got to help when you were my age!"

 

The popular 'Puff looked perplexed by that. "Err... I suppose that's technically true ..." she began. The conversation had taken a turn for the awkward.

 

"You two are getting ahead of things actually," Andrew said as he decided to cut in. "We don't even know that there's going to be a new curse this year. Maybe we get lucky and this is just a normal school year."

 

"With your luck Andrew? I doubt it," Penny quipped with a small laugh.

 

The rest of the conversation was fairly relaxed, although Penny asked more than once if he'd written anyone in particular over summer. She also was quite curious what he expected to happen now that he'd be working with his former nemesis as apprentice cursebreakers. No doubt Tulip had told Penny all about her suspicions of an attraction between Andrew and Merula. Damn that perceptive, clever Ravenclaw. Andrew felt he managed to navigate the conversation without saying anything incriminating. Luckily Beatrice continued to cut in and ask questions about his various exploits. The three of them made their way onto the train and found a free compartment, eventually being joined by the timid Gryffindor Ben Copper. As the train departed the station Andrew turned toward the window and wondered what the year had in store for him.

* * *

 

Later that night the newly minted Ravenclaw prefect made his way through the corridors of the school. He was supposed to be in search of students out late in order to enforce the school’s curfew and technically he was. Except his ‘search’ was for one student in particular and he already knew where to find her. He finally reached his destination and quickly checked to be sure he was alone. The hall appeared to be satisfactorily empty and so the boy entered the room Jacob had once used as a base for his investigation into the vaults. It was dark and he began to reach for his wand to shed some light. As he did the loose tie around his neck was suddenly grabbed and he was roughly pulled down. The fear and adrenaline that shot through him were quickly replaced by joy and endorphins as his lips crashed into another, familiar pair that waited for his. The soft lips of Merula Snyde moved in practiced rhythm with his own and tongues began to explore. The time spent snogging over the summer had made each of them quite good at it. Merula's left arm snaked its way around his neck while her right continued to hold her boyfriend by the tie. Now that he knew what was going on he wrapped his arms under hers and lifted his girlfriend off the ground so he could stand up straight again. The hormonal teens stayed locked together for nearly a minute before breaking apart for air. Quite a welcome back to Hogwarts.

 

"Hi," she said simply and softly as he placed her feet back on solid ground. He pulled out his wand so he'd be able to see the Slytherin he was here for.

 

" _Lumos,"_ he whispered, which caused the wand's tip to give off light. The sight of his former nemesis, particularly the way she eyed him, caused a grin to form instantaneously on the Ravenclaw's face. "Damn Mer. Miss me that much already?" Andrew asked smugly.

 

Merula snuggled her way under his right arm and looked up. "Maybe. You've a surprisingly talented tongue Ward," she flirted with a mischievous wink. "What took you so long to bring it to me?"

 

"Riddle practice," he answered with a roll of his eyes. "New Ravenclaw prefects train the first years with some typical riddles on the first night of term before patrol."

 

"Riddles?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

"Right, I guess you wouldn't know. So the other three houses all use a password to protect their common room. Ravenclaw had a different idea. You can only get in if you can correctly answer a riddle from the knocker," he explained.

 

"That doesn't sound very secure. What if someone from another house can answer the riddle?"

 

The tall boy shrugged. "Welcome to Ravenclaw common room. How many books would you like today?" Andrew joked.

 

Merula rolled her eyes. "You nerds are ridiculous. Why even have a door if anyone clever enough can open it?" she asked dismissively.

 

"Hmmm. I think there's at least one Ravenclaw nerd you don't mind," he purred while he moved behind her to plant soft kisses along her neck.

 

"Mmmm, well I suppoooooooose if I had to choose one," she began before she turned and their lips met again. This time when Andrew lifted her it was to sit her on the edge of a table, where the pair were free to lock lips to their heart's content. It was only the first day, but Andrew was fairly certain that this would be his best school year yet.


	16. Dirty Little Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merula and Andrew find ways to be secretly affectionate on the first day of classes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I know it's been quite a while since I last posted. Life sorta happened. It be like that sometimes.
> 
>  
> 
> I do have something to share as an apology though. I participated in a Secret Santa with other members of the HM community in December. My present was an [amazing piece of art](https://praetoring.tumblr.com/post/189858210503/introducing-merula-to-the-joy-that-is-muggle-music) from Praetoring on Tumblr. So definitely check that out.
> 
> Sorry again. I'll try to be better about writing the next chapter. Fingers crossed. ~~No promises though ~~~~~~

The first day back saw Andrew and Merula get comfortable in their new secretive relationship. In public they planned to continue to act as they had the previous year, with lots of banter and light hearted insults. Anything else would be reserved for when they could find private time. That, as it turned out, was easier said than done. 

 

That morning in potions Andrew felt something brush his hand under the table during Snape's lecture. He looked down to see Merula's right hand, its pinky extended, close to his left. He made sure to look back at Snape before he wrapped his own pinky around hers. It was brief, only lasting a minute or two, but nonetheless nice to get this small semi-public display of affection. Plus the fact that they were surrounded by their classmates and professor gave the hidden contact a sense of danger and risk that added excitement and fun.

 

Later that afternoon in care of magical creatures they were tasked with drawing a unicorn. Andrew, who had always been dreadful at art, had drawn far too much body and short legs. As he attempted to repair the horn that he'd somehow managed to curve upward, Merula approached him. She leaned in as though to look at his drawing, but the slight movement he felt by the pocket of his robes made him doubt that was truly her motive.

 

"Ward is that supposed to be a unicorn? It looks more like a horned hippopotamus," she ridiculed with a derisive laugh. Andrew had to fight the urge to grin. Even when she was insulting him her laugh filled him with joy.

 

He allowed himself a small smirk as he played along and said, "Hey, it's not everyone that can manage to draw a horny hippo." A few of the other students within earshot laughed.

 

Merula turned a brilliant shade of red and suddenly seemed incapable of maintaining eye contact. "W... whatever. Shut up Ward. You are so weird," she stammered out before she made a rapid retreat back to Ismelda. He returned his attention to his hefty unicorn.

 

As class drew to a close Andrew spotted the small form of Beatrice Haywood as she made her way toward him. The generic Hogwarts robes she'd worn the previous day had been replaced with the yellow trim and badger crest of Hufflepuff. She waved and approached him as she bounced around with the enthusiasm of a puppy. "Hi Andrew, professor R-WOAH IS THAT A UNICORN?!" Bea suddenly shouted as she came near the paddock the class had used that day.

 

The girl's enthusiasm was infectious as the Ravenclaw prefect couldn't help but grin and chuckle. " _ Haha _ Hey Bea. Yeah, it is. You'll learn about them in a few years. What is it you were saying about a professor?" Andrew asked.

 

"Oh, right. Professor Rakepick asked for a volunteer to bring you a message. So obviously I volunteered," the excitable girl answered as she tore her attention away from the magical horse. "She wants you to meet her on the training grounds when you're done with classes."

 

So, a meeting with the professional cursebreaker on the training grounds. He had to assume that this would be the start of his apprenticeship. "Alright, excellent. Wait just me?" Andrew asked. There were 3 apprentices, why would she only ask to see him? He couldn't keep his eyes from a brief glance at Merula. She would not be pleased if he were to receive preferential treatment, especially this early in the term.

 

The young Puff lost some of her fervor as she looked nervously in the direction his eyes had just been. "Err… well I'm also supposed to tell Merula Snyde. It's just… the way Penny talks about her I'm a little scared," Beatrice explained while she held her thumb and forefinger close together to show just how little fear she was feeling.

 

His smile widened as he let out a small chuckle. " _ Haha  _ Relax Bea. I consider myself an expert in dealing with Mer, so I'll give you some tips and I'll come with you to deliver your message. Sound good?" Andrew asked gently. When the younger Haywood gave a determined nod he continued to say, "Alright, so as soon as you initiate conversation she's probably going to insult you in some way. Don't pay attention to it. Remember what you're there for. Just give her the message and then say goodbye. Got it?" Another nod and the pair made their way to where Merula and Ismelda leisurely packed their school bags.

 

When they drew near Bea looked at the Ravenclaw prefect with uncertainty. He just gave her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up. The first year squared her shoulders and took a breath before she addressed the message recipient. "Merula Snyde? I have something for you."

 

The Slytherin heiress turned to the pair and sneered at them. Her stance was as aggressive as ever. "Well if it isn't baby Blondie and my least favorite cursed classmate. Practicing for your future career as a nanny?" Merula directed at her secret boyfriend.

 

" _ Tsk tsk  _ Now now Mer, be nice or you won't receive your message," Andrew said in a mock chastising tone with an impish grin on his face.

 

"Message? What message?" the bully asked as she looked between the two.

 

When Beatrice seemed to hesitate she received a gentle nudge from Andrew, which proved to be enough to get her to talk. "Right. Professor Rakepick sent me to let the two of you know that you're to go to the training grounds after class," the eleven year old explained rapidly.

 

A gleam of excitement shined in the violet eyes. Her stance softened as she exclaimed, "Yes! Finally I get to learn something useful." She looked over to see Andrew with an eyebrow raised. "Oh fine, maybe Ward and Weasley will pick something up as well."

 

"Thanks for delivering the message Bea. Why don't you head on back to the castle? I'll see you around," 

 

"Yes, you too Ismelda. I'll find you once we're done with our training."

 

The pale Slytherin sidekick shrugged at Merula and left, but not before she shot a glare in Andrew's direction. Or half a glare, since her long black hair covered the right side of her face. Beatrice followed after. As the two walked the young Hufflepuff attempted to introduce herself. "Hello, I'm Beatrice Haywood. Most people call me Bea though."

 

"Remember this Beatrice. One day you will die. So will everyone who ever knew you. You'll be completely forgotten. It will be as though you never lived at all," the dark Slytherin girl responded dourly as they passed out of sight behind some trees.

 

"Well they sure make an odd pair," Andrew noted of the two girls. "What do you reckon...oi!" he began before he shouted at the small hand that smacked his arm.

 

His girlfriend's eyes narrowed at him as she said, "Really? Horny hippo? Why?"

 

"I don't know what you're talking about, you're the one who brought up the hippo Mer," he replied while a smile grew.

 

"I was just describing what your drawing looked like and I definitely didn't describe it like that," the Slytherin girl said as she began to walk through the woods in the direction of the training grounds. 

 

The long legs of the Ravenclaw prefect allowed him to keep up at a leisurely pace. "Of course you did. I just chose to abbreviate some of your words. You know... for uh brevity's sake," he countered. He swung his head about. When he saw that they were alone he pulled alongside Merula and playfully bumped into her.

 

"Uh huh, suuuuure you did," Merula said with a roll of her eyes. She used both hands to push him away. "You dolt."

 

Andrew went with the momentum of the push, then stuck out an arm to spin himself around a tree with a laugh. "I am, but luckily I'm **your** dolt," he answered as he caught up with her. He took the opportunity of their time alone to emphasize his point with a hug.

 

She allowed herself to enjoy it for a few seconds with a contented sigh. "Alright, don't get all mushy on me Ward. What if someone saw us?" Merula asked as she broke free of the embrace, a smile on her face she'd failed to suppress. She had gotten worse at hiding those since last year. The girl continued to walk.

 

"Ah. Apologies my private paramour. My secret sweetheart. My backstage beau. My…" he joked as his mind raced for more alliteration until he was interrupted.

 

"Stop," she said with a small laugh. "You can't keep making me smile like this all the time." She came to a halt and turned to make eye contact with her undercover boyfriend. The piercing violet orbs seemed to cut through him the way they always did.

 

"What? Why not?" Andrew asked in confusion. "I quite enjoy your smile," he added with a grin. It was a very nice smile.

 

Merula briefly looked away and tucked some hair behind her ear. She always did that when he gave her a sincere compliment. "As sweet as that is, you still have to stop. Or actually just do it less. Knowing you it would be impossible to stop entirely. You're... annoyingly persistent about it," she explained as her pale cheeks began to redden. It was as adorable as ever. Not to mention he was fairly certain she'd just complimented him in her own Merula way. "Making me smile  **too** much will draw suspicion. You've told me that Karasu already suspected last year. We don't need anyone joining her."

 

Andrew heaved a sigh. Oh how he'd prefer to just put their relationship out in the open, consequences be damned. But Merula clearly wasn't ready, not by a long shot. So he'd have to learn to be patient. "Alright Mer, have it your way. Race you to the training grounds then!" he shouted as he ran off through the woods past her.

 

"What? No fair! You've got your stupid giant legs!" Merula called after him as she gave chase. The two teens tore off towards their first session as apprentice cursebreakers.


End file.
